Christmas Break
by nintendosegasonyguy
Summary: *WILL NEVER BE FINISHED Christmas Break starts for Leo and Aeris after 11th grade exams. Their friendship is tested numerous times as several tragic and weird things continue to happen to them. At the same time, Pantsman is dealing with a crime boss.
1. The Holidays are Here

Ch.1

The Holidays are here

"December 17"

*LEO'S POV*

It was the final day of exams until I could enjoy the long-awaited Christmas break. I was in the middle of my most hated subject, the Algebra exam. I don't know why, but Math was always the biggest pain in the ass as far as school goes for me, even in Elementary school when it was easier. It was the only test we had on that final day, so we only had to stay at school for about two hours before we could go home, right around 10:00. By the time we were in the final exam, I was quite tired due to fatigue from all the other exams I had taken during the week, and, being the idiot I was, I actually started to drift off to sleep while taking this last one. We were about 45 minutes into the exam, so we only had another hour to finish it. I must have been asleep for about 20 minutes before Aeris threw a waded up piece of notebook paper at me from across the room. I'm surprised the teacher didn't see her, but he was sitting at his desk, really interested in reading _Salem's Lot_ by Stephen King. Our teacher had good tastes. My favorite book by Stephen King just happened to be _Salem's Lot_. Heh, even if he wasn't reading, I'm sure that he wouldn't give two shits if you completed the test or slept. Anyway, I snapped awake and looked around, finally landing my sights of Aeris' mischievous face. She lowered the lower lid of her left eye and stuck her tongue out at me. I just rolled my eyes and went back to the exam. I looked at my watch, realizing how long I had slept, and started to scramble to finish the test. While doing this, I kept looking over to see Aeris silently laughing at me, her sharp, sapphire eyes mocking me. It seemed that she had already finished her test, which I couldn't believe. I kept glaring at her and giving her dirty looks, but she kept that smug smirk on her face. At the time, I didn't show it, but I was quite grateful that she had woken me up; I probably would not have woken back up by the time our time was up otherwise. I'm sure I still failed the test, but I know I would've done a lot worse if she hadn't bothered to wake me up. Pretty soon, our teacher said "Time's up", and told us to give our papers to him, and that was that.

"How the hell do you manage to fall asleep during a final exam?" Aeris asked me teasingly. We had just left from school, side by side like always. We lived only about two houses apart from each other, about 5 blocks from the school, ever since she enrolled at the Elementary school in our area in 3rd grade. I could see other kids start to head off in different directions to their homes as well. A cold, Toronto breeze was blowing snow directly into our faces as we walked back to our neighborhood. We had dressed for the day just like we should have; the typical fluffy jackets, earmuffs, baggy sweat pants, you get the idea. I wore all blue, from head to toe, since it was and is my favorite color. I even had a cool blue collar with a bell on it. It had been a gift from Aeris when I turned 13. Not a day has gone by that I haven't worn it. The only other color you could've seen on me, other than the ashy gray and pale white of the fur on my exposed head, was on my red shoes with white laces. I remember getting them as a little twelve-year-old, back when I still liked Sonic the Hedgehog and thought that _Duke Nukem Forever_ would be the best game ever. Unlike the rest of my now *ahem* MASCULINE body, my feet had remained the same size, just about 8 and 1/2. The shoes were falling apart, but I didn't care. Because of my get up, I'm surprised passersby didn't mistake me for a retarded Sonic. Aeris was always dressed oddly for cold weather; I guess that she just had some resistance to it more so than I did. She was dressed in her typical pink hoodie (to match her fierce pink fur and hair), covering a velvet purple shirt underneath. She wore nice jeans that fit her, compared to my baggy ones that had a hole in the left knee. Unlike my earmuffs, she wore a red and white Santa hat. It looked cute on her.

I grunted as she asked that heinous question. "You know I suck at Math. Why waste my time?" I muttered. I could feel very slight warmth on my cheeks. "Aw, did I hurt the little kitty's feelings?" Aeris said sardonically. She suddenly clasped my right cheek, which only added further to my embarrassment and continuing rise to the warmth in my cheeks. I swatted her hand away, kind of annoyed. Aeris obliged, but she said kind of seriously, "I didn't have to wake you up, you know." I looked away and said quietly, "Then why did you? It's not like I asked you to." Despite saying it quietly, my tone was kind of out of line, and I didn't know why. Usually, Aeris is the foul-tempered one. But right now, I was the one who just sounded like I had been chased by McGruff the Crime Dog for six blocks (that actually did happen to Aeris once). Maybe I was just depressed over the exams, or I was tired, but either way, the damage was done. Aeris usually did not take lightly to any form of insolence I may have. I regretted my words immediately after I said them. I dared look back at her. She was staring at the ground as she walked, hosting a very pissed off expression on her face, but behind her eyes I could plainly see melancholy, just as plainly as I could read a book. I'm surprised that she did not back-hand me. I felt bad and apologized. "I'm sorry Aeris. I'm just not feeling very cheery today. You did a wonderful thing for me, and I'm grateful." I put my arm around her and pulled her close, stopping along the way, giving her a beaming smile, hoping to ease any tension I might have caused. She stared at me for a few moments, a surprised look on her face. After a few seconds, she pushed me off and socked my in the right arm. If there was one difference between her and me when either of us got mad, it's that I never hit people. Ever. "You're such an idiot sometimes." Her eyes told me she was mad, but her smile betrayed it. "Aren't I always an idiot?" I said hilariously, rubbing my sore arm. "But hey, you're the one who made friends with me, so you gotta put up with me, right?" I started to walk again, holding my hands behind my head. She caught up only to tell me something actually kind of surprising. "Yeah, I know. Remember in 3rd grade, you helped me out when Snake was being a dick to me?" I thought for a second, then went, "Oh yeah."

3rd grade was the first school year that we shared together. For the first few days, I remember not seeing her at all. We were in some of the same classes, but the classes were big enough that you could not notice every single person. The Elementary school was quite large, with plenty of rising video game stars, like Mario, as well as plenty of anthropomorphic cats and dogs like Aeris and me. I think it was on a Friday of either the first or second week, I had the chance to meet her. I never saw the full scene, but Aeris later told me her point of view of the situation too, or at least part of it. So basically what happened was that Aeris and Solid Snake had been taking a Math test together in the same class. They had just been released by the teacher, I think it was Mr. 47, who was a crazy robot secretly bent on human slavery. Yeah, if it's that easy to figure out, you may want to rethink you're evil world domination plans. I'm talking to you, Krug. Anyway, Aeris was just calmly walking to her lockers, humming some video game tune, when Solid Snake suddenly pushed her from behind. "What the hell! Snake, you big JERK!" she shouted. Snake calmly replied in his deep voice, "On the battlefield, you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times. Attack can come from any-" I had been walking down the hall, asking if anyone had seen my turquoise Gameboy. Turning around a corner, I had just seen enough to know that a pink cat whom I'd never met before was on the ground with Snake standing over her. I somewhat knew Snake; we had been in one class together, and actually talked a bit. My first impression was that he was very quiet, kind of depressed, really. I didn't know that much about him, until I asked his friend Hal Emmerich, who goes by Otacon, more about him. The gist was that Snake had been hoping to get into a video game called Metal Gear Solid, as the lead role. I had made a mental note to check it out later on if he did manage to get the part, which he did. Otacon also told me that Snake can have kind of a foul temper sometimes; it was just his way about handling the insane problems he faces on a regular basis. Remembering the scene at hand, I decided I would surprise the two arguing kids.

Snake had just gone through his usual BS rants about the situations on a battlefield. Just as he said "…attack can come from anywhere…" I sneaked behind him and shouted, "ALARM!" Snake, realizing what I had done, quickly opened an unlocked locker and rushed inside. It suited him well. I put a lock on the locker to keep him from causing more trouble for a while. Looking at the innocent pink cat, I held a paw out to her. "Gets him every time," I said. She clasped my hand. When she was on her feet, I noticed a book on the floor, figuring it must be hers. "Here, you dropped this." I reached down and picked it up, holding it out for her as I did. This actually gave me ample time to get a good look at her face. She looked just like she does now, except for a few things. Her sapphire eyes were looking extremely shy back then. She had little braces on. Her clothes just about matched mine; the typical T-shirt and jeans. She was extremely cute. I didn't want to say anything that would muck up my previous act of courage that I had just shown to her, so I finished lamely with a smile and a "See ya!" Going in the opposite direction, I started to look for my Gameboy again, figuring it had to be somewhere. That was the first time we met, but it wouldn't be our last.

The following Monday, I was sitting under a large oak tree during recess over by the edge of our field, finally having found my Gameboy in my closet in my room. My mother had apparently moved it while cleaning my room, neglecting to tell me where she renovated many of my personal belongings. It didn't bother me much though, just as soon as I had found my Gameboy. Anyway, I did not typically hang out with other kids my age. I was very much into video games. Back in Elementary school, many soon to be famous video game stars had not been into the roles of video games that pretty much changed their lives. Funny to think how I could see Link chasing chickens in the playground and field area, only to see him do it again, when Ocarina of Time came out. Other video game characters were also doing God knows what. I was probably one of the only people in my school who was interested more into playing the games themselves rather than being in one. Sitting there under that oak tree, I was playing some Tetris. Pretty fun game, hell of a challenge. Eventually, I could feel the presence of someone standing before me. I pressed pause on my game to see who it was. It happened to be the pink cat I had saved from Snake just last week. I smiled and said, "Hello!" She muttered "Hi" to me. I could tell she was pretty shy, because she wasn't looking directly at me. After a moment of silence, I asked her "Hey, you want to play this game I have? It's called Tetris." This is when she looked at me. I could see a slight blush in her cheeks, but I didn't care. "Sure. I actually have that game. It's pretty fun." She smiled as she sat down next to me. I handed her my Gameboy. We spent the rest of recess like that, just taking turns playing Tetris every time another person would lose. This was back when we were not exactly pros; nowadays, both of us can fly circles around the game. When Mr. 47 came outside to call us all back into the school, I heard my new friend say "Awwwww." I turned to her and said, "Don't worry. We can play with each other again sometime soon. What's your name?" She looked deeply into my eyes before answering, "Aeris." I smiled and said, "I like that name. My name is Leo. I'll see you later, okay?" She nodded in understanding. We pretty much hit it off from there, hanging out with each other every chance we could get, all the way up until now. I think the only thing that changed between us was that she ended up getting a fouler temper, especially in 7th grade and onward, and I was beginning to no longer understand her when she did things to me. To be completely honest, though, she hasn't hit me for being stupid in at least a month, so I think I've been getting off somewhat well.

"Huh. I guess you're right. If it weren't for me, you'd have no one, except your parents." I said jeeringly. Just as an FYI, she didn't consider guys like Pantsman and Ternaldo our friends, even though I do. She quickly ran in front of me, a rising blush on her cheeks now. We stopped again. "Hey! That's not true! I would have actually made lots of friends, had you not helped me that day…" I raised an eyebrow at her. To be fair, I would not have anyone except my parents if I never became friends with Aeris, but of course I didn't say that. I don't think my face showed it, or I hope not, but I was slightly hurt by her remark. "So you're saying that you regret our entire friendship? That you'd rather have stuck-up sluts for friends instead of me?" I never spoke highly of other kids at our school, because their all whining brooding egotistical morons who do nothing but gossip. Except for the video games stars. Guys like Riku from _Kingdom Hearts_ were actually half-way decent people. Aeris didn't say anything to my harsh words, but looked down at her feet. After a moment's silence, I said softly, "Come on. I've been you're friend for as long as either of us can remember, or at least me. Even if I sometimes annoy you, or you hit me out of frustration, you have never left my side. Obviously, I'm special to you, and you're special to me..." I would've said more, had her face gave me an indication not to. She continued to not say anything, but she looked up and stared at me, her lips slightly parted (I guess this was a subtle way of her gaping). I was a little embarrassed about what I had just admitted to her. Even though we were both best friends, it was always alien for one of us to show affection to one another. I had just broken sort of an unwritten rule. Looking away from her gaze, my face burned hot. I decided that it would be best to change the subject. "Nevermind, Aeris. Let's just go home. Do you want to come over to my house?" She was caught of guard by the question, just by how drastically I had changed the subject, but she said, "Sure, but not right away. I'm kind of tired. I think I'll go take a nap for a few hours. Maybe around 3? I'll call you." "Aw, come on. Right now. Pwetty-pwease?" I said this in my most obnoxious voice I could manage, to hopefully lighten the mood further. She just smiled and told me that we had the whole Christmas break ahead of us to hang out. I could feel my face relax from the blush, just as I snorted from her response and got out my IPhone from my pants pocket to start listening to music. We were about 3 blocks away from our street by now, so I figured I had enough time to listen to some songs before I bid farewell to Aeris. I started listening to Depeche Mode, _Enjoy the Silence_, which is one of my favorite songs. Aeris never particularly liked them. I always thought she was crazy, liking shit bands such as New Order. I'll stick to Joy Division, thanks. Ever since Ian Curtis killed himself, the band went to shit…

I pondered these random thoughts among other things as I was barely paying attention to where I was going. Luckily, nothing bad seemed to happen as we walked. I think I almost walked into a light post, just barely noticing it before it was too late. I remember faintly hearing Aeris giggle over my music. I smiled at my stupidity; sometimes, you just have to laugh at yourself. I just finished my second song, _Superpowers_ by Dismemberment Plan, when Aeris spotted her house. I pulled out my headphones. "Well, I'll see you later." I said as she rushed to the front door. "See ya!" she said cheeringly. It reminded me once more of the first day we met. I watched her go until she entered her house. I just kind of stood there for a moment, admiring her house. It was one-story, pretty compact, with nice brick furnishings on the outside walls. Her parents had certainly gotten off well. Truth be told, I'm not very fond of her parents, since they hate me with the fiery intensity of a million George Forman grills (SpoonyOne reference), but whatever. My parents love Aeris in contrast, so it's not all bad.

Not one to waste my day just standing around, I started walking to my house, which was only a few houses away, but I didn't quite feel like going home. I felt like just walking around for a bit, enjoying the falling snow. There already about a foot of snow on the ground from all the snow that had fallen last night and today. Trust me when I say that I don't normally behave this way. Usually, I rush home and stay there as long as I can to play video games, or watch random crap online, or listen to music in peace, since I hate being outside when it's not necessary. But right now, not so much. Well, the holidays are approaching. "Maybe I can look for something Aeris might like at GameStop…" I thought aloud.

Oh, I forgot to mention how both Aeris and I like to talk aloud to ourselves. Aeris has been trying to break the habit for the last couple of months, but I really don't care enough to do so. I remember this one time last year, when Aeris, Krug, Ternaldo, Scott- er, Pantsman, and I all went out to eat at some restaurant (Johnny Evilguy eats testicles, so he's not really a friend). When our waiter came and said he was faking enthusiasm, I remember shouting to him, "I wish to first expel urine from my sack of pee before ordering!" I mainly did this just to be funny, just to fuck around. I saw him give me an amused expression, while I could hear Aeris quietly tell our friends, "This is exactly why we never go out…" I just shook my head out of good humor as I walked. 5 seconds later, I started peeing in a filthy green stall, unintentionally giving a full speech as to what I was doing. I don't remember myself even speaking, but all I know is that restaurant security cameras (don't ask) caught my whole spiel, and later put it on Youtube as a little joke. Boy, I never heard the end of that one… So I see that there's a load of substance best not described left in the toilet bowl. There wasn't even any toilet paper in there either, so that only gave me a clearer view of the shit. Already peeing, I couldn't just stop; that's unmanly, and it stings real bad. I tried flushing, but to no effect; obviously, the toilet was clogged. I don't even know how that's possible without the toilet paper, but hell if I am making this up. I tried a nearby plunger to hopefully unclog the toilet. It was pretty gross. All of a sudden, the toilet FREAKIN' EXPLODES for no reason right in my goddam face. So I'm covered from head to toe with shit and piss water and whatever other foul things that I don't even want to imagine may have been left in the toilet. I step out of the bathroom, ENRAGED at what just happened. I didn't even wash my hands, or any other part of my body; I just know that I'm about to kill someone. Aeris would've been proud. Walking back to my table, I hear Ternaldo say to all of them, "I tell ya, I left one stinker in there!" I realize that it was him all along. Aeris was about to shout "TMI" at him, just as she sees me soaking wet. "Leo, w-what h-happened…?" At first, she was shocked and concerned. Then, when she got a closer look at what I was covered in, I could tell by her face that she was struggling not to laugh. She finally burst like a friggin' balloon. Krug and Pantsman were a little more subtle about it, just covering their mouths and lightly banging their fists on the table. I didn't care though; all I was thinking was that I was about to rip Ternaldo's head off. He finally turned his fat hairy head around to look at me. At first, neither of us said anything. He didn't seem fazed by my appearance. He just had that typical shit-eating moronic grin on his face that he always has. Then I zip down the fly on my jeans. He gasped. What happened next? Nevermind, it's so bad… Let's just say that I'm banned from that restaurant for life, which I don't care a shit about. Ternaldo and I later became friends again, so it's all good.

So anyway, I walked past my house to go down to the local GameStop, and maybe Starbucks. Okay, definitely Starbucks.


	2. Boring

Ch.2

Boring

*AERIS' POV*

"What exactly had Leo meant we heard said that we were 'special' to one another?" I asked aloud as I started taking off my winter wear and hanging them of the coat rack. Don't think me crazy for talking aloud; it's just a bad habit. My parents weren't home (I couldn't see their white car in the driveway), so I didn't need to worry about them hearing me recount my personal thoughts aloud. I decided not to dwell on what Leo had said, just as my stomach began to growl. I went into the kitchen to make a sandwich. At least, that's what I meant to do. I ended up making a full plate of quesadillas instead. I guess I was really hungry. So, putting them into the microwave to melt the cheese, I went out into the living room to rest on the sofa and watch some TV. I flipped through the channels, saying what I thought of them as I went. "Boring. Boring. Gay. Weird. I'm not five years old anymore. Stupid. Gay. Boring. Is it 1960? No. Boring. Gay. Crap." It went on like this for a while. Nothing was on. I stumbled onto the Weather channel, and was about to tell it to go fuck itself (I hate the weather, because it's ALWAYS wrong), but just then the microwave's alarm went off. I got up and went to retrieve my food. As I was coming back, the weatherman was taking about an ice storm happening in two days.

"_Yes, on December 22, we are expected to have rainfall instead of snow. Temperatures are looking like they will warm up. But then, on December 23, we're expecting that temperatures will turn back to freezing. Due to the wetness all over the area, the newly fallen water will freeze into ice. If there is any water on power lines, the power lines will freeze, preventing electricity flow. Icicles will also hang from trees like daggers. It will be a very dangerous night."_

At the time, I really wasn't interested into hearing nonsense like that. "I'm not even sure exactly what an ice storm is, and that weatherman's description of it was so shoddy I doubt that it will even happen. I also couldn't see the logic in temperatures bouncing all over the place over the course of only two days. So I flipped the channels once more, still nothing good to be seen. I had almost finished my quesadillas at this point, but I was no longer hungry, so I shut off the TV and put the rest of my food into the fridge. I remembered why I had come home in the first place. To sleep. I headed upstairs. But from all the food I had eaten, I wasn't even sleepy anymore. I figured that I could probably play a game or go on the internet; I didn't want to call Leo just yet.

First, I checked my Facebook account. I actually had two accounts. One was my regular ass one, simply called AerisCole. No new mail or status updates. I logged into my other one, _YaoiObsessedFanGirl._ Leo, nor anyone for that matter, was aware that I had this hidden account. It's not like I want it to be the most public thing ever. Once again, no new mail, or fan fiction comics over Starfox or Final Fantasy 10. I had been writing my own, but I just wasn't in the mood to sit down and write some more. Being a novice writer myself, the hardest thing is coming up with dialogue over the characters. You always have to be in the right kind of mood, and I just wasn't feeling it right then. Logging out of Facebook, I tried a few more websites. Nothing new on Youtube, nothing new on Twitter, nothing new at all. It was kind of disheartening. So logging out of all my things, I got up to lie on my bed, placing my necklace on the nearby nightstand. The idea of playing games wasn't that cool right now either. I had kind of burned out on Borderlands, and MW2 or L4D2 was boring without someone to play with. I could serve a can of whoop-ass on a couple of n00bs online, but…Something was missing. I was so freaking bored! Looking at the clock over at my nightstand, it was only 11:43. "God, I wish Leo was here. He can make anything entertaining." I said aloud. Leo…

I ended up thinking about him again. I started to think of what he had said. "We're special to each other…" What exactly had that meant? As soon as he had said that, he turned away from me out of embarrassment… "What was up with him today? He really wasn't himself…" Leo had seemed much more lost in thought today than on any other day that I can particularly remember. He wasn't as willing to take my teasing with a grain of salt either. Was something wrong? I guess I needed to ask him…_Maybe he likes you,_ a voice in the back of my mind said. I quickly dismissed the thought. Leo and I had been best friends forever, but I doubted that either of us- Once again, that voice inside me spoke up. _Didn't you ever watch the sitcom "Friends", where the characters were anything but?_ That was just a crappy sitcom, I argued with myself. I still wasn't to sure, though. As quickly as I had been thinking, I started to drift off. I guess once you get the chance to lie down on a soft bed and think, then you start to grow sleepy.


	3. Rumors Suck

Ch.3

Rumors suck

*LEO'S POV, while Aeris is at home*

"Ugh, this intersection sucks…" I muttered as I had to wait for the cross-walk light to go on. I had been walking for several minutes past the suburb where Aeris and I lived, and just approached the worst friggin' busy road I can possibly imagine. I had already been standing here for like 5 minutes just hoping in vain that the light will come on. Many busy cars were driving through the lane. I could recognize some from Gran Turismo, Diddy Kong Racing, and other racing games as I waited. Finally, the glorious orange light went on. So I started crossing. Halfway through the lane, some jack-ass starts driving through the crosswalk. He almost hit me. Had I not stopped listening to the music and not focused on where I was going, I think he would've. "Jesus fucks!" I shouted as I jumped out of the way of the car onto the sidewalk close by, landing harshly on my right knee as I did. Aeris would've been proud of my outburst; after all, she demanded I start swearing beginning on her 15th birthday anyway. I barely had enough time to spin myself around to see who was driving that damn car. It was some blonde guy who was literally steering the wheel of his car with his ass cheeks. I'm not kidding; that is literally what I saw of the driver in the split-second I had to see him as he passed. I was about to scream my freaking head off, when I realized that I almost sounded like Aeris. She was always the vengeful type, ready to hold a grudge at any moment's notice. Thinking about that made me bite my tongue down hard. There wasn't anything wrong with how she handled her problems, but I knew that it did not suit my own nature; I have always been the easy-going kind of guy, only breaks his temper if something precious to me is threatened. That being said, I did snap at Aeris earlier today just for doing something very nice for me, but with her I feel different. She doesn't make me feel like myself. She sometimes drives me crazy, but I honestly can't imagine what my life would be like without her. Looking at the given situation, I realized a hurt knee wasn't worth it.

Like a true cat, I brushed myself off, and started walking again. I made it for about 5 steps before the pain in my knee shot up through my body like a bottle rocket. I almost fell back down. Stumbling, I caught myself on a street sign. I then tried to move the knee cap around to see if it was broken. It wasn't, but I stilled mewed with pain from shaking it around. I slid down along the sign, panting slightly as I did. I figured that I would rest here for a while, which I did. A few other cats walked passed me as I sat there massaging my knee. They just stared, figuring I was probably homeless despite my nice winter clothes and clean fur. A little girl cat with blonde hair walked away from her mother to ask if I was okay. She looked genuinely concerned. Just as I said I was fine, her mother quickly took her hand and scolded her for talking to me. Her mother was kind of tall, and not very properly clothed for the snowy day. She was actually beautiful, until she gave me a dirty look for absolutely no reason. My now blank expression didn't change as we gazed at each other. Finally, that bitch walked off with her polite daughter. I sighed when they walked around a corner and stood up. My knee still hurt, but I was okay enough to keep walking. A few minutes of slight limping later, I finally made it to a whole district of stores. Half Priced Books, McDonalds, Guitar World, Starbucks, and of course, GameStop, just to name a few. Crossing one more street, (this one was a lot less busy), I was home free.

I first made my way to Starbucks. Making my way through the door, the smell of coffee beans and addicting drugs greeted my nose. I hobbled my way to the front counter. "Hi, welcome to Starbucks. May I take your order?" the guy said. "Yes, I'll have a non-fat mocha latte with 3 sweet-and-lows and a slice of banana nut bread, please." I said. "Alright, we'll call you when it's ready." I strolled back to the entrance, because I had forgotten to take my coat and earmuffs off. I figured I could also show off my awesome Beatles shirt. Finding a not occupied table to sit on, I made my way back through the shop. It was actually much more old-fashioned and classier than other Starbucks' I've been to before. It wasn't exactly crowded, but a lot of tables were taken, so I had to find one in the far corner of the room. I had to listen for my order, so listening to music was not an option, so I had to stare at other peoples' dull lives as I sat.

A freckled, orange cat wearing glasses with a neat sweater on was typing something up on his laptop. I thought, "_How pretentious can you be to write stuff down in public_?" Honestly, it's basically saying to the ladies, "_Hey, I'm gay lonely gay nerd. You wanna be my special friend?"_ I giggled at my own little joke, and then continued to look around the room. I saw Wolf from Starfox sitting near the center of the room, looking depressed and somewhat drunk, despite Starbucks not serving any form of alcohol. "_Maybe he found out about all the yaoi porn that Aeris has on her computer of him?"_ I thought. Yeah, Aeris thought her anonymous Facebook was completely unknown to me. This one time, when I was over at her house playing Call of Duty, she had just gotten off of Facebook to go to the bathroom. I noticed that she had forgotten to log out, so, invading her privacy like I had the undeniable right to, I typed back up Facebook to look at her account. Unlike her normal AerisCole, she was logged in as YaoiObsessedFanGirl. Scratching my head, I looked at what kind of stuff she had on her account. At the time, I had no idea what "yaoi" was. Well, I learned right then and there. I almost screamed when I saw all the weird pictures and stories she had written herself or reviewed from someone else. It was pretty friggin' creepy. There was a lot of Starfox stuff. A LOT OF STARFOX. I suddenly began to crack up. Just the fact that she obsessed over the games that much was pretty sad. She always tells me that I'm the sad retard because I like to cosplay. Well, I do, but I think that isn't as bad as liking the weird shit that she did. I was about to lose it when I heard a flush from the bathroom, so I logged out of her account and resumed my game. "Leo, why had you paused your game when I left?" she asked when she stepped out. Struggling to hold my laughs in, I said, "Oh, nothing…" she raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and got back onto the computer.

"Where is my order?" I whispered to myself. It hadn't been long, but a coffee and a slice of bread do not take this long to make or get. I started having my eyes dart back and forth the room again before landing on this one couple sitting at a table close to a window, all the way across the room from where I was at. I recognized them from school. Derek Wazzape and Lily Peters. Derek was a black and white tomcat who's a straight up jock that only really cares about sports, but he was never a douche about it or anything, like some other jocks were and are. I didn't know him too well, but I have heard that he's won a few winning touchdowns for a couple of school football games. Lily was a scarlet cat who was and is insanely into acting and plays. She was in Drama this past year, and from what few plays I actually did see, she's a pretty good actor. The last few days before exams, I remember walking through the cafeteria, to Aeris' and my table in the far corner of the expansive room, and overhearing people gossip about this and that. I didn't especially care about rumors or the people involved with them, but I ended up hearing a lot anyway. One rumor in particular was that Derek and Lily and been going steady, just not publicly. I was too busy thinking about playing MW2 to even notice. So looking at them now, I knew that they obviously were no longer very quiet about there romance. They were holding each other's hands across the table, just staring into each others' eyes. Before I knew what was going on, they kissed each other, in front of God and everyone. No one around them cared, not even onlookers outside, except for me, still creepily staring at them.

Let me just say that being a video gaming nerd for my entire life, all the way since pre-K, has definitely affected my social status forever. It's not that other people were mean to me, or that I couldn't get along with people, video game star or otherwise, but I had never really made an effort to connect with anyone else, except for…Aeris. She was literally the only person I ever stepped up to in school and said, "Hi." When I was a little kid, I didn't especially care about having friends, since I had video games. Then Aeris came along and I learned how amazing a friend can be. I think she may have to, because I've never seen her hang out with any other person except me on a regular basis. But of course, I had never had a proper romance either; I hadn't even had my first kiss yet and I was 17-years-old. Aeris was no help in that department, since we were and are only friends. Well…It's not like I haven't thought about asking Aeris out…on like a real date. I never actually have, though. Her reaction would probably include me having an Xbox controller shoved down my throat, and I'm cool with that. _She's special to you_, a voice inside my head proclaimed. Special…

I suddenly felt very, VERY jealous of Derek, staring at him, sucking face with a pretty girl. All of a sudden, the person who took my coffee order appears in my line of vision, which makes me jump back a bit. "Sorry," he said. "Here's your order. Sorry it took a while. Thank you for your patronage, and have a good day." He lamely ambled back behind that prison of a counter. I sat there at my table, silently sulking. A few minutes later, I finished my drink and food. I was walked to go out the entrance, but then I heard Derek call me over. "Oh, God…" I muttered. I turned around to go see what he wanted. "Hey, man. How's it going?" he said cheerfully. I said it was all good, trying to be polite. "You've met Lily, right?" Derek said, motioning toward her. She smiled at me and lightly waved her hand. I nodded to Derek, wondering where this was going. "Lily just wanted to ask you something." I turned to her and said, "Yes?" Her smile dimmed a little, and she said kind of seriously, though I don't know why, "What's the deal with you and Aeris? Are you guys dating?"

It was the absolute last thing I expected to hear. I don't think that's what Derek was expecting either; looking at him from my peripheral vision, I could tell he was surprised by Lily's question as well. She probably just told him to call me over without actually telling him what she wanted from me. I stood there, looking like a dumbass, wondering what in the hell made Lily think that I was dating Aeris. I finally blurted out, "No, we're just friends. What made you think we were dating…?" Lily just shrugged, and told me that it was one of the numerous rumors that had been going around the school recently. "Plus, you guys always and only hang out with each other. It sometimes gives us a mixed signal. I'm actually surprised she's not with you right now." She laughed, thinking that was funny. Derek chuckled nervously along with her. I gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything. I suddenly felt like punching Lily in the face since I freaking hate rumors, especially ones about me, but of course I didn't, 'cuz Derek would've kicked my ass and I'd be arrested for woman assault. Feeling a blush of humiliation coming onto my face, I turned around and walked out of Starbucks without another word, grabbing my stuff of the clothes racks. They didn't even bother calling me back. Walking out onto the street, I turned back to look into the window where they sat. Lily was yapping about something, but Derek was more interested in staring back at me instead. He gave me a look that basically said, "Sorry about that. I'm trying to make this work, so thanks for rolling with it." I smiled at him to let him know it was okay, but it really wasn't.


	4. Dreams

Ch.4

Dreams

*AERIS' POV*

_I was on the ground, my book off to the side of me. "What the hell! Snake, you big JERK!" I shouted. He looked down at me. I couldn't see his eyes because of the shadow created by the bandana he was wearing, but just from the way his head was tilted, I could tell what he was doing. "On the battlefield, you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times; attack can come from any-" His boring speech was rudely (but thankfully) interrupted by an ashy gray tomcat, who shouted, "ALARM" at the top of his lungs. I saw Snake's face grow serious and panicky. He whirled around, opened a locker, and jumped inside, as if he had been splashed by cold water. The gray cat put a lock on the locker to prevent Snake from escaping. He turned to me, and gave me a warm smile whilst reaching his hand down to help me back on my feet. "Gets him every time," he said. "If you ever need Snake off your back, just shout ALARM. It causes him to go for cover every time." I didn't say anything, but just stared at him in awe. He looked down off to the side, seeing my book. "Here, you dropped this." He reached down and picked it up, holding it out to me. I slowly reached for it and grabbed it. "See ya!" he said happily. He started to go in the opposite direction. I wanted to call out for him, to see what his name was, but I just couldn't, for some reason. Looking down at my book in my hands, I could feel a blush burn furiously all over my face. I started walking in the opposite direction, my fluffy hair covering my wide eyes._

"_Aw, FUCK! This game sucks!" I shouted angrily as the Nemesis threw Jill across an alleyway. Leo was sitting next to me on my bed, watching me play the game I had gotten from Krug. "I warned you that RE3 would blow. If you didn't like the second one, why do you think you would like the third?" he asked. As the chilling game over screen came on the TV AGAIN just before I shut off the PS2, I sighed and answered, "Sequels officially suck ass. Remember how the first one was good in a hilariously bad way? I'm hoping that they'll be able to capture a fraction of the magic from that game." Leo shrugged. "I guess, but I say that once you officially screw a series up-" I gave him a sour look and interrupted. "You don't have to sugar-coat it, stupid. Go ahead and swear if you like. You're 15-years-old for Chrissake." Leo had never been much of a guy to swear and I just thought that that was weird. I was swearing like a drunken asshole at a baseball game before be even began muttering slightly bad remarks. "Fine," he said. "I guess when you officially fuck a series up, it stays that way, no matter how many more sequels there are. You even said how you hated the second game." This time it was my turn to shrug. "It's just the game that Krug had gotten me RE3." "You asked him to get it for you," "Psssh! whatever." I sat back down beside him on my bed. He was the only one out of his bizarre group of friends who stuck by at my house to hang out with me on my 15__th__ birthday today. He was always there for me, anytime. Everyone else just delivered some half-assed excuse as to why they had to leave. Pantsman had crime patrol, Ternaldo was busy in the middle of a Yu-gi-Oh marathon…asses. Their presents weren't that bad though. Of course, Krug had gotten me RE3, but Ternaldo got me Shadow of the Colossus and a pack of Magic the Gathering cards. Pantsman got me a pair of slacks. He was really weird like that; I planned to burn them later on. A few kids from school whom I didn't know me too well got me other things. Leo was the only person whose present I had not yet received._

"_Well, I bet you're now wondering where my present is…" Leo seemed to read my mind as he said kind of sheepishly. "Yeah, actually I am," I said. He got up from my bed, and then knelt down on one knee directly in front of me. I gave him an expression that said, "What are you doing?" He chuckled under his breath. Reaching in the left pocket of his baggy jeans, he pulled out a velvet box. "Leo…What are you…?" I squeaked. He chuckled once again, this time with a goofy smile on his face. He held the box in front of him, and opened it before my eager and worried eyes. I was too scared as to what the object was, so I jumped back onto my bed like I had a stroke. He started laughingly crazily, like I had just slipped on a banana peel. "I knew that would happen." He choked out through his tears. When he regained his composure, he said, "Don't worry; it's not what you think. Just take a look." I slowly got out of bed, still worried about the box's contents. It was not a ring, thank freaking Lord. What it ended up being was a pendant, only different: instead of the typical locket, it was a triangle composed of three triangle pieces with an empty space in between. It was brightly shining a golden color. "It's a Triforce…" I said out of pure amazement. Leo beamed, knowing that he got me something special. He picked it out of the box and held it out to me. "I thought you might like it. I made it myself. Handcrafted." Grabbing it, I rubbed my fingers over it, before blurting out. "YOU made this?" Leo had never been the very artsy kind of person. He also had zero soldering experience, as far as I know. He just did not have the patience, or even the still hands, especially since he barely had enough playing video games like Street Fighter. My plan was to slap him and say that he led me to believe that he was proposing to me, but I was too distracted. Just the fact that he could handcraft something this sleek in design… "Yes I did. So you like it?" I looked up into his emerald green eyes and said, "Of course." I truthfully did too. You can actually stand to be around Leo when he does something right. He continued to look overjoyed. "Can I put it on you?" he said shyly. I smiled and said of course he could. I gave it back to him. He spread the chain out, and placed it over my head. I looked down over my chest to admire it. It was so beautiful…_

"_Leo!" I shouted as I ran all over my house. He had run away, the fickle little bastard. The mess of spilled Pepsi all over my brand new Xbox 360 was not about to go unpunished, not even for a second. I searched all over the downstairs rooms. Not in the kitchen, not in the dining room, not in the garage, FUCK! I finally rushed upstairs hoping to God that he had not run into my room. I searched all over my parents' room, the bathroom, and the guest room, but again to no avail. Finally, I had no choice but scour my room in search for him. As soon as I rushed in, I saw him. He was standing directly in the center of my room, facing the doorway where I was standing. He had his hands behind his head in an extremely casual fashion, as if nothing had happened downstairs. He was looking off to the left, right where my bed was. I noticed that there was no bell around his neck, just like there usually was. He didn't even have his blue collar on. Why? I don't know. I shouted at him to get his attention. "HEY!" Normally, whenever I shouted to him, he'd cower in fear like a puppy dog that had just been kicked in the face by their master. But this time, he continued to stand motionlessly, taking his time looking into my eyes. Despite their usual emerald glisten, right now his eyes looked ice-cold, almost blue, just like mine. His relaxed mouth suddenly drew into a crazy sneer that didn't suit him. He looked like he hated me. He answered my shout very coolly. "Oh, hello, Aeris. Say, what was all that shouting about downstairs? It was pretty annoying." What was up with him? He was making any sense. I had every reason to be shouting! He just blew MY couple of hundred dollars that I had used to buy MY Xbox._

_Not wanting to let him catch me off guard, I said softly to him (like the calm before a storm), "You know what you did down there…" Leo lightly chuckled, not even trying to hide it from my volcanic face. "So? It was just a fucking Xbox." He knew that this would really get under my skin, but it also shocked me; Leo had never talked badly about a game system before, let alone one he had looked forward to one of us getting for over 15 months. I didn't let it show on my face, but I was kind of worried about Leo, because of his drastic behavior. Cracking my knuckles anyway, I said, "Any last words?" Leo narrowed his eyes. "Nope, not really." He said. I charged at him full force, about to make contact on the side of his head with my right fist. I never heard the pleasant sound of his skull crushing to pieces though. Instead, he had caught my hand! He held it with remarkable ease. I tried hitting him in the side with my left fist, but once again, he blocked it, this time with his other hand. He now had both my arms out of commission. Before I could kick him in the nuts with a fierce swing of a leg, he swung me down toward the ground, not particularly hard, though. "CQC, Aeris. Come on. You should know this from Big Boss." Leo mocked. Big Boss had run a business where he taught CQC techniques like the ones in MGS3 to people about 3 years ago. I had attended, mostly to get back at his son Snake, but I had never really practiced them outside of class, and in fact, I pretty much forgot them after the final class. Leo had not joined the class along with me, but here he was prancing around like Bruce fucking Lee._

_I got back on my feet to try to remember how to use CQC. It took me a moment, but I got it. Leo and I began a duel, like Jackie Chan and some bad guy. It was pretty fun, actually. I didn't ever make contact, though. Leo was literally all defense, never once raising his hand against me. "My parents taught me the ways of chivalry." Leo said. He just read my mind. I grunted and swung my leg at him. He caught it, but instead of just pushing it back, like he had with every other one of my moves, he pulled my leg towards him. When I was close enough, pulling on my leg, he pushed his hand against my torso so forcefully I fell flat on my back. I was about to get back up and start fighting again, but Leo got on top of me, holding down my hands with each of his, while holding both of my legs with just one of his. He was very strong. I struggled, but could not get free. Edging his face closer to mine, he said, "I expected more from you Aeris." I could smell his breath; something like Pepsi and Cheetos, ugh. I looked away, both from the smell and the humiliation I would feel looking into his acidic eyes. He held me like that for a second, and then he suddenly removed one of his hands from holding mine and wrenched my face toward his, forcing me to stare into his eyes. I could feel a small urge of panic. He then did something that was both the ballsiest and most shocking move I think he could've possibly done. He slowly bent his face down further to kiss me._

_Despite what his breath smelled like, his lips tasted nothing like that, for some mysterious reason. His eyes were closed, but mine were wide and frightened. Slowly, though, my heartbeat began to calm down. All my angered ebbed away as well. The Xbox seemed like small potatoes compared to this. I closed my eyes to enjoy the kiss. It wasn't my first; I had run into my fair share of guys in the past, some friendly, some creepy. It was never anything serious, so I never bothered telling Leo about them; besides, he wouldn't understand anyway; I think he's the jealous type. I never managed to settle on one boyfriend, because I was too different from most other people, except for one person…_

_Leo removed his hand from where he had wrenched my head, and glided it over my cheek. He was enjoying this, probably more than me. I could tell because of how loudly he was purring. I decided to start purring back at him, to let him know that I was enjoying the kiss as well. We just sat there, relishing in each other's arms. After what seemed like an eternity, he broke the contact of the kiss with me. I opened my eyes. He was staring down at me, with his face looking like normal again. His eyes were more emerald green than ever, and his sneer was replaced by his typical goofy smile. The only thing still missing from his perfect image was his collar and bell. He looked just like he did that day we first met, only older, to fit with his modern age of 17 years. "You're so red, Aeris, like a tomato…" It was a VERY lame line, not worthy of his previous brave act of kissing me, but I knew it was true. My face was so hot it felt like it was about to boil off of my skull. I'm sure between my pink and white fur and red face, I looked like a good mascot for Valentine's Day. Leo slowly slid off of me and stood up. He held his hand out to me, to help me get up as well. As soon as I felt the warmth of his paw, everything faded to black before my very eyes. I think I fainted._

I slowly woke up from my deep and wonderful sleep. I yawned extremely proudly; it would've put Leo's lion roar of a yawn to shame. Looking around my blurry room, I rubbed my eyes to let them refocus. Nothing was different around my room; it looked the same as when I had fallen asleep. All of a sudden, memories of the dreams I had had all came flooding back into my thoughts. I sat on my bed, holding my knees very close to my chest.

The first two dreams were direct flashbacks to days of my past, when we had first met and when Leo had given me the Triforce pendant for my 15th birthday. Those were two of the happiest times of my life, but of course I never admitted that to Leo. The only thing jarring about my dreams was the final one. It was not particularly based on any real life experience. When I had initially got my Xbox, I told Leo in a very dark and ominous voice to not harm it in any way. He had gotten the message pretty quickly. He has broken many a glass and plate before, because he's so clumsy, but he always guarded video games with his life, his or otherwise. Knowing this, I still scared the shit out of Leo by telling him not to mess with my Xbox, mostly just for the enjoyment of seeing his frightened eyes. Sadistic? Maybe. So in the dream, Leo was being very malevolent, which did not suit his nature at all. He was also way overpowering, which he usually never was. It honestly scares me to think of him that way. But then, there was that kiss.

The kiss, I realize, was fake. Imaginary. So why had it seemed so real? I mean, we have honestly never shared anything romantic, not even slightly. So why was my dream making me see him in that way? Does that mean that I honestly like him? _Yes_, the inner voice in my head whispered. This time, I actually did not argue with it. I needed to see Leo again for myself, just to see how I felt about him. Rolling over on my bed toward the nightstand, I picked up my pendant and placed it back over my neck. Looking at the digital clock also there, I saw that it was now 4:37.

"SHIT!" I yelled. I had overslept and not called Leo. "Aeris, honey? Are you okay?" My mom was literally right outside the door, wondering what my outburst was about. I guess that they had long since come home. "Yeah, mom. I'm fine." "Alright…" I heard her footsteps slowly get quieter as she walked away from my door. While dialing the numbers on my cellphone to call Leo, I wondered why he hadn't called me. I guess he didn't want to disrupt my slumber. There was one text message from Pantsman, but I didn't really care about that. After the phone rang several times, I got Leo's voicemail. That was weird. Usually, Leo always answers his phone. I hung up and decided to call his house number, to see if his parents had seen him. The phone rang a couple of times and gave me another voicemail. I swore under my breath, but remained online to see if there was a message saying if anything was going on. "Hi, you've reached the Leonardo residents." I recognized Leo's dad's thick British voice, but he sounded very quiet and depressed, not suiting his ordinary nature. "My wife and I just heard that our beloved son Leo was hit by a car and is now in the local hospital, Shady Oaks. We will be able to call you back as soon as we can. God bless." He finished as the phone fell out of my shaking hand and landed on my bed. The excitement of the previous moment seized up and went away.


	5. The Broken Bell

Ch.5

The Broken Bell

*LEO'S POV*

I started walking to the GameStop a little farther off. I was feeling horribly angry and depressed. I regretted even going to Starbucks. Before I knew it, I was shaking with rage. Looking across the street, I spotted a bench a little off direction. "I can cool off down there…" I said shakily. I sat down and pulled out my IPhone to listen to more music, hopefully calming me down. The time was 11:56, so I still had plenty of time before Aeris and I would hang out. Strolling through my selection, I decided to listen to one of my all-time favorites: _Street Hassle_ by Lou Reed. _"Waltzing Matilda whipped out her wallet. The sexy boy smiled in dismay. She took out four twenties 'cuz she liked brown figures; everybody's king for a day…"_ I found myself chanting the lyrics over and over again. It was a remarkable song. The instrumentals were all classy and nice, but the lyrics were darker and gritty, showing the joys and horrors of prostitution, overdosing on alcohol and heroine, and the desire for love. Once again, Aeris does not like anything I like, including Lou Reed. She has no friggin' tastes!

The song was close to its end. Waking up from a sort of trance, I slowly got up, stretching and yawning, and wiped the snow that had fallen atop my head and on my jacket. I turned around to go to GameStop, when I bumped into a slim figure. "Ah, an evil-doer! Prepare to meet your fate!" he shouted gloriously. I recognized his voice. Before I could tell him that it was me, he threw a pair of slacks over my head, punched me in the face pretty hard, and kicked me in the nuts. I could taste blood. I fell to the ground, clasping my crotch out of natural reaction. Aeris had kicked me there enough times that it was just a muscle spasm. Pantsman started guffawing like a British soldier. I threw the pants off my head and yelled bloody murder at him. "Oh, it's Leo. So hey, did you see that creepy guy I just illegally assaulted? He disappeared just as soon as you appeared. I didn't see him scamper off." He was dressed in his normal clothes, which is to say not very prepared for cold temperatures. He gave me a nervous smile. He was definitely a piece of work, alright. I could tell he was joking just to lighten the mood of him nearly killing me, one of his only friends, but that didn't stop me from slowly standing up from the pain in my balls and punching him square in the jaw. He fell back flat on his ass. "Next time you do that," I ominously whispered to him, "I'll hook up your ball sack to some jumper cables and shove my foot up your ass." Seriously, if only Aeris could see me whenever I was like this. It might even turn her on…Nah, I'm just kidding. Those dark feelings flashed away and my face then returned to a lighter mood and I held out my hand to him. He's was a bit unwillingly to take it at first, until I gave him my trademark goofy expression. "Sorry about that, but what the fuck was that about? You beat the shit out of me." I said as he rose to his feet. Pantsman shrugged and apologized. I could see the welt I had left him on the side of his face, so a verbal apology wasn't all that necessary to me. "Some guys aren't taking too lightly to my street justice, and so I suspect that they sent a few guys after me."

I stared at him, and then said, "Okay, that's all fine and dandy, but I have two questions. One, was it smart to directly assume that someone who accidentally bumped into you was a crook? Wouldn't it have made more sense if the crook hit you over the head with a bat or another blunt object instead of blatantly walking into you? Second, I was just now sitting on that bench." I said pointing to it. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you did not see me as I was sitting on that bench? You were literally 5 feet from where I was. If you did see me, why didn't you consider the possibility that it was me who bumped into you?" Pantsman couldn't directly answer either question. He's definitely an idiot sometimes, but that's to be expected of someone who goes around in public with pants and sometimes underwear on their head. He also runs his own website, where he posts a lot of popular comics, but he's SO terrible at updating it that many of his fans have resorted to writing fanfiction to soothe their screaming impatience. All and all, he's inept at everything he does. EVERYTHING. We just stood there for like 2 minutes, staring each other down like the guys from _A Fistful of Dollars_. I eventually sighed and told him to forget about the whole thing. "Say, while we're out here, do you want to go to GameStop?" I asked him as we started walking. "Sure. Whatcha going there for? Any new games come out recently?" he asked. "Nothing in particular; I was just browsing, thinking about what I could get for Aeris."

Pantsman suddenly stopped and gave me a devilish smile. "Oh, I get." he said subtly. I gave him a strange look. "What? What's up, man?" I could already kind of tell where this was going. He continued to stare at me, and then he put his hands behind his head in a casual fashion. "So how is Aeris? Have you guys…you know." He clasped his hands together. I could feel a blush rising to my cheeks. "What the hell has gotten into people today? Aeris and I are just friends. You're not the first person who has asked me that, SCOTT." He cringed as I said his real name. "Well, just about everyone has been getting that idea recently. You guys have been best friends for years, and you only really hang out with one another, although sometimes YOU will hang out with me, Ternaldo, and even that incompetent nimrod Krug. Plus, can you honestly say to my face that you haven't at least given it some thought?" He crossed his arms. "Well, I-I…I…" I just stammered as a "guilty-as-charged" burn flooded through my face. I sighed and admitted, "Of course I've given it thought. Aeris is my best friend, and we've been together forever. But I can't ask her out…"

"Why not?" Pantsman continued to poke and prod, and I was beginning to get a little tired of it. "Well, she's mean to me, and I can tell she doesn't like me the same way I like her, so there." I turned around and kept walking to GameStop. "So you do like her?" Pantsman called. I stopped in my tracks AGAIN, and turned to him. Jeez, I've been doing a lot of stopping and moving today. "Yeah, I guess I do…" I said slowly. Then I added quickly, "But if you tell anyone, I'll reveal your secret identity." He just nodded to me and gave me a friendly smile. "Well, well, well. The cat's finally out of the bag. Pun intended." I chuckled as we continued to GameStop.

"What the fuck do you mean that you're out of Metal Gear Solid 4?" As we both walked in, a big brown dog with a trench coat on was growling at a perturbed clerk. "Sorry, dude, but it's supply and demand. We'll get more shipments in a few days. Just come back on like December 23rd or something." The dog sighed and said, "Fine. But if the game isn't hear when I get back…" He motioned a straight paw slashing across his neck. The clerk didn't even flinch. He kind of reminded me of Dante from the movie _Clerks_. Pantsman and I were still in the doorway, so as the dog passed, he bumped into my shoulder and said, "What're you lookin' at?" That's why I hate dogs. They're fucking assholes. But I can't blame him for flipping out. First Metal Gear Solid 4 is a fucking great game. Second, how can GameStop run out of copies for a game anyway? I know MGS4 is popular, but it did not JUST come out. It's been out for, I don't know, maybe a year and a half by now. Well, whatever. Anyway, Pantsman and I walk into the shop. Not too many people were in there; I guess most people were relaxing at home. Can't blame them; Aeris was doing the same thing right now. I recognized a blonde cat with a blue sweater on from school. I think his name was Hamilton. I also saw Ike from the _Fire Emblem_ games checking out the Wii games. There was one more guy in the back, or actually two guys. They were the squirrels from those fucking PSP commercials. I strolled on over to the Xbox games.

"Let's see…" Most of the games on the shelf were no big surprises to me. Aeris and I already had Left 4 Dead, Bioshock, Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Fable, Halo, and a bunch of others between the two of us, so there really wasn't much we hadn't seen before, except some third party games; she had an Xbox and I had a PS3 and a Wii. I saw some weird and some cool looking 3rd-party games. Dungeon Guy 1-3, Gears of Halo Theft Auto 5, Big Little Planet, Ballroom Dancing Massacre, Men Who Stare at Goats, Immortal Kombat, Clerks: The Game, and so on. Dungeon Guy was the only one that looked halfway decent. Looking at the back of the box, it looked like a cross between _Dragon's Lair_ and the video game adaptation of _Scott Pilgrim vs. the World_. Just, try to imagine that for a second. I didn't know if Aeris would like it, plus it cost like $50 (I only had about $17 after the Starbucks), but it was something to consider. I put the game back and went to the PS3 games. Again, nothing we hadn't seen before. There were some 3rd-party games, but they looked like crap. All of a sudden, guess who waltzes up to me? Those friggin' squirrels.

"HEY, MAN! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" one of them shouted gloriously into my face. Despite his loud voice, no one else in the store seemed fazed; maybe these guys were a recurring menace. "Um, I'm just browsing…" I said. "DO YOU WANNA PLAY NUTS?" the other screamed. "No, not really, guys…" I squeaked, but they kept going on anyway. "WHY DON'T YOU PLAY, OUTSIDE?" Noticing their crazy eyes, they looked like they were high or wasted off their asses. "YOU CAN PLAY NUTS… OUTSIDE? WHAT!" I would've laughed, because they sounded more like they did Egoraptor's parody of them than they did in the actual commercial. Their last horrible line was spoken in a monotone voice. "PSP. It's a nut you can play…outside." They scampered off through the door of the GameStop, hootin' and hollerin' like the psychos from Borderlands. Pretty soon, Ike walks over to me and says, "Just forget those guys. They were famous, and then they tapped out into drugs…It was a whole messy business." I chuckled and asked him, "How do you know?" Ike just shrugged and said, "All celebrities do drugs at one point or another. Me personally, I'm a recovering alcoholic." "Ooh, that sucks, man." I said. "Yeah, but I'm fine. You're pretty cool. What's your name?" "Leo Leonardo the 3rd." "Alright, well I'll see you later." With that, he turned and walked away. Cool dude.

I walked over to Pantsman, who was still at the DS games. "Find anything you like?" I asked him. "Nope. There are still no video games about crime fighters who wear pants on their head like me." I nearly burst out laughing. "You desperately need a new fetish," I told him. He turned bright red and said, "It's not a fetish! It's a way of life." I would've laughed more, but the stores clerk and everyone browsing, including Ike, was staring at us. I whispered to him, "I was just kidding; keep it down. I'm pretty much done browsing. Nothing I can really afford right now. If you're done, let's go." I smiled nervously at everyone around the store until they got back to their normal activities. Pantsman just shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess I'm done."

We walked out of the shop. "So where are you headed now?" Pantsman asked me. "I don't know. Home, I guess. I'm tired anyway and I'm going to be hanging out with Aeris later on." Once again, Pantsman gave me a devilish smile. "Can it." I muttered. He laughed as we kept going. Soon enough, we were back at that God-forsaken crosswalk again, and we had to wait for like 10 minutes AGAIN. Or at least, I had to. I don't know about him. So the light came on, and we begin to walk. What happened next was something that is still blurry in my mind, but has stayed with me nonetheless.

We were halfway through the crosswalk, just talking and joking about who knows what. All of a sudden, I hear a very loud honk. I turned around. There is this huge SUV coming straight at us. Pantsman also seemed to notice. By the time we heard the honk, the car was only about 10 feet from where we were, and approaching insanely quickly. Everything seemed to slow down into Matrix time. Turns out that that cliché actually happens in real life during situations like this. By the time this happens, the SUV is right in front of me. Acting under pure cat reflexes, I pushed Pantsman out of the way, just as the car is right on top of me. For that one split second, all I could hear was the intense beat of my furious heart. As soon as the impact came, I closed my eyes, and saw Aeris there, standing before me, holding her arms out to me. I think I could also see silhouettes in the form of my parents, but I'm not too sure. That was just a vision, though. I didn't feel the pain of the impact, or hear anything except the whoosh of air as I went flying. Aeris is the only thing that I cared about at that one moment, even though her life was not in danger, and mine was. The crash back to the ground on my back echoed through my very soul. I finally opened my eyes. Somewhere far away, I could hear Scott calling out to me, begging someone to call 911, and screaming at the driver who hit me. I wanted to get up, to help him in his panic, to tell him that I was fine, but I just was not able to. After a few agonizing minutes, I tried to lift my head to see the scene. There was some blood on the truck's face and on the ground. Pantsman was moving and screaming like a maniac. But the only thing that I cared about, the one thing…was my collar. My blue collar must have fallen off during the impact. It seemed to be okay, but the precious item on it was not. The beloved bell that Aeris had gotten me years ago that I never went a day without, was broken. Shattered to pieces. Its shards and contents were all over the place. I wanted to scream; I wanted to cry; I wanted to kill the driver that had hit me, but I just couldn't. Slowly, the darkness flooded through my eyes beyond my furious tears.


	6. Angel

Ch.6

Angel

*PANTSMAN'S POV*

"What the fuck is fucking wrong with you?" I shouted mercilessly at the driver as he stepped out of his car. He was a big fat orange cat, probably weighing something like 300 pounds. He had a flannel shirt on and overalls. He kind of looked like a hillbilly. "You just ran over my friend!" I shouted at him. He just raised his arms. "Sorry, I didn't see 'em." That guy is just digging his grave, let me tell you. "You were driving a car, through a crosswalk, no less, and you did not see two people walking in front of you. Oh my God." I was fuming. This guy was a fucking moron. I could see a crowd of people start to gather around us and the gray and blue heap of bloody flesh that was Leo. My first thought was to call 911, but I just knew that this guy's ass was grass. I ran up to the driver. From about 5 feet away, I could smell the clear sign of booze, whiskey, and dreaded Vodka (my one weakness) on him. He was wasted off his ass, and probably high of drugs. I punched him in his big fat gut. "Dude, the hell's yer problem?" he said backing up slightly. "You're fucking drunk and probably high!" I shouted at him. I punched him again, this time right in the jaw. He fell to the ground, trying to crawl away. I went ahead and let him, finally getting myself under control. He's going to jail anyway, so it's all good. I went over to where Leo was. A guy had been standing over him and checking to see if he had a pulse. Apparently, he did. "Can someone please call an ambulance, and maybe the police? That driver that hit him was drunk." I asked the crowd. One woman said that she would, and she did. I sat beside Leo, to see how he was. He was breathing very heavily. His eyes were struggling, as if Leo was seeing something terrifying that only he could see. He was barely moving, but the faint twitches from his arms were very noticeable. I felt so sorry for him and guilty too. He had pushed me out of the way to save my life, but he ended up getting hit instead. I just sat there looking over him. Eventually, most of the crowd seemed to go back to whatever they were doing. As the woman who called the ambulance went away, I gave her thanks. She said not to mention it. I gladly obliged.

Finally, the noise of two approaching sirens came. The ambulance immediately took Leo. I went with them. One of the Para-medics asked me some questions. "Is he a friend of yours?" "Yes." I said. "Can I come with him to the hospital to make sure that he is okay?" The Para-medic nodded. I got in the back with Leo. From out the door, I could see the police interrogating the driver. "Rot in hell…" I cursed silently. The door then sealed shut as we started moving. I realized that Leo's parents needed to know about this, and probably Aeris too (Ternaldo and the other guys probably wouldn't care too much). I didn't have a cellphone, but I knew that Leo did. I got out his phone and called his house.

Five minutes later, I finished with a sobbing Mr. Leonardo and a shrieking Mrs. Leonardo in the background. She had answered first but dropped the phone after I broke the news to her. "Thank you, Scott, for taking care of my boy." (Any elder that said my real name I was okay with.) Even if I wasn't, I swear to God, Leo's dad has the coolest British accent I've ever heard. It's the only one that hasn't made me contemplate suicide or want to drown helpless animals. "No problem. We're on our way to the hospital Shady Oaks, down by Gay Tony Avenue. I guess we'll see you there shortly?" I said. Leo's dad actually chuckled through his choking tears and said, "We're on our way right now, just as soon as the missus calms down. Thanks again." With that, he hung up. Next I had to call Aeris. The phone rang about 20 times before I just gave up. _Aeris never answers her phone when it's desperately needed_, I thought with dread. I decided just to leave her a text message, telling her the full story. With that, I put the phone back in Leo's pocket.

*AERIS' POV, present time*

The drive to the hospital was one of the most unbearable and toughest drives I think I ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I had calmed down since I had heard the news, but I was still broken. My parents were graciously kind enough to drive me to the hospital, but they still had contempt in their eyes as we drove. I still don't know why they hate Leo. We all sat in silence, probably to prevent saying anything that might upset anyone else. Looking out my car window in the left side of the backseat of our car, I could see a lot of dark clouds in the sky. It eventually started to snow once more (it must've stopped while I was sleeping). Looking at the snow, and I know this sounds crazy, but from my point of view, the snow looked red, almost like frozen blood. I blinked numerous times, but the crimson shade never flickered. It was almost memorizing in a way. Finally, the car pulled up to the hospital parking lot. Snow was falling all over my head and hands. I looked down to the white fur on my paws to see if they were stained with red. Thankfully, they were not.

"Is a Mr. Leonardo checked into a room here?" my mom asked the nurse at the front desk. "Why, yes. He's in that room down the hall." She said pointing. "Aeris, I think your mother and I will wait outside." My father said. I told them that was fine and then eagerly shuffled into the room. Here lies the horrid sight. Pantsman was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes bearing into the ground. I could see Mrs. Leonardo sitting in a black chair off to the left, her face buried in a completely soaked handkerchief. Mr. Leonardo was hovering over her, patting her shoulder, with a look of pure sorrow in his eyes. He always wore nice business suits, but did he have to just happen to wear a black one today? He looked like he was wearing a funeral suit. When he noticed I came in, he said to me, "Hello, Aeris. It holds great meaning to us that you came." When he said this, everyone else turned to me. "Hello, sweetie," Mrs. Leonardo said shakily. "Hey," Pantsman mumbled. "Hi everyone. How's Leo?" I said. "He's completely out cold," Pantsman said. "When we arrived here, we managed to get him into a room and give him some bandaging for the bleeding, but we've been waiting for a doctor for a long time." I looked at him, and then said, "Pardon me, but what exactly are you doing here, Pantsman?" I said sarcastically. I expected him to know I was joking, but he didn't look convinced. He looked as if I had just slapped him. "You're kidding me? Did you not get my message?" I shook my head, remembering that I had dismissed his message. He muttered something and then said angrily, "You know, that's the problem with you Aeris! You never know when to stop fucking around! You can never get serious at the right time!" He turned away from my shocked gaze. I was bewildered at this. Pantsman and I had never been friends, mostly because I always looked down on him. He ended up making friends with Leo only. We had been at each other's throats many times in the past, so I guess Pantsman was finally letting out his frustration accumulated over the years. He said softly, "Earlier today, I called you to tell about Leo. I was with him when he was hit." Mrs. Leonardo winced a little as he said that. "The phone rang about 20 times before I gave up. I texted you, but still nothing." He turned back around. "I'm here because he saved my life. He pushed me out of the way of the car just before he was hit." He put himself back up against the wall and returned to his former pose without another word.

Now I realized just what exactly he was upset about. I hadn't known what had exactly happened during the accident, and for me to question why Pantsman would be here after he was so involved was definitely uncalled for. I would've said something to hopefully appease the mood, but now really wasn't the time, with so many eye-witnesses. I instead ignored his hurtful (but true) comments and slowly walked over to the mangled Leo. There were several bloody bandages matted to his forehead. His eyes were shut extremely tightly as if he was having a bad dream. His mouth was slightly agape. His whole body made a massive twitch every now and then. I brought my face close to his. He was kind of handsome, despite the bloody bandages. Reaching out, I touched his cheek, just like he did in my dream. His face was very cold, almost like a cadaver, but after a few seconds, physical warmth returned to his face. He mumbled something in his sleep. Then, without any warning, his eyes snapped open and he lurched his upper body forward, probably subconsciously causing him pain. I jumped back several feet, almost hitting the wall.

*LEO'S POV*

_I'm cold. I'm so very cold. In this dark little cave, I'm trapped. My legs have cramped and seized up, so now I can't leave this prison. My fur is heavy and damp with the buildup of caked dirt. I want to speak to myself, tell myself that I'm alive. But there's nothing to say that can convince me. The urchins prick at my exhausted feet. Crabs pinch at my legs. I feel nothing of them, though. If they could talk, I would listen. If they could feel, I would confess. If they could cry, I would help them. If they could smile, I'd die happy. But I'm alone. They do nothing, so they may as well not exist. There's nothing for me to think about, and if there was, it'd be too painful. Time doesn't even run; it gave up trying to chastise me ages ago. I hold my knees in an endless embrace, one I know I'll be able to hold no matter what. But then, something of the brutality changes. I see a white dot flickering in front of me. Then a figure. It is far away and small, but still there. It glows like a sun. It shines like a pearl. Its warmth gives me strength, determination. But I can't trust it. I close my eyes to welcome the familiar dark. When I check to see if the glow is gone, it is not. It is right before me. I feel no fear, for it can't change something to hurt me. I'm already broken. But it doesn't even try to do something bad. The figure reaches out a hand to touch me. It glides over me cheek. It feels hot, almost scalding, but pleasant. The feeling is alien to me, but I bask in it. Just as quickly as the figure appeared, the light diminishes. "Wait, don't leave…" I said slowly._

"Oh, Leo! Oh, my sweet baby boy!" I was half unconscious from my long sleep, but instantly snapped completely awake as the pain of my torso shot through me. My mother had been in literally a death hug. "Uh, mom…You're hurting me…" I managed to get out. She let go and apologized. "What… what happened?" I mumbled. I was in a hospital bed, with my parents, Aeris, and Pantsman all around me. I rubbed my eyes and my sore head. There was intense pain in my ribs. Everyone had the same anxious expression. "Why don't we let Scott explain? If you would be so kind…" my dad said, motioning to Pantsman. He ambled right before me and said, "You and I were walking through a crosswalk when some jackass drunk came straight toward us. He was arrested when someone called 911 and the police. You acted just fast enough to push me out of the way, at the expense of you getting hit." He lowered his head, "You saved my life. You're a hero." That meant a lot to me, but instead of thanking him for the compliment, I quoted with the raspiest voice I could manage, "I'm no hero. Never was, never will be. I'm just an old hired killer…" I smiled at Aeris and winked at her. She seemed to understand the joke. Everyone else looked like I was crazy. "It's from a video game." I said. "Oh, Leo. Same old Leo." Aeris said. She smiled at me. I suddenly felt like I was on top of the world.

Just in that moment, a doctor walked into the room. He was dressed like any other typical human doctor, except he had swirly goggles on. It made him look insane. "Sorry it took me so long. I was doing some thing else with another patient." He spoke in a very high pitched, nasally voice. "What exactly happened here?" My dad spoke up. "My son has been hit by an SUV." The doctor walked toward me, with a slight note of humor in his gaze. "Was he out cold? Almost dead?" Pantsman spoke up this time. "How did you know that? You only just met him, right?" The doctor chuckled darkly. "Well, getting hit by an SUV hurts badly. I can tell that he has been only mildly treated by that head injury." He pointed to my bandages. "A gash like that can go deep. People have gone into comas before." The doctor seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then said, "I'm not just a doctor. I'm also a scientist. I was conducting some research on the whole concept of comas a while back. It's already a known fact that coma-length changes from person to person and incident to incident. Some of my studies show that sometimes in the earliest stage of a coma, if the person going through the coma is exposed to a certain familiar form of energy, such as heat, he or she can wake up before stepping into complete comatose. Did anyone make direct contact with him JUST now?" Everyone looked at Aeris. She raised her hand casually and said, "Yeah. I touched Leo's cheek. It felt as cold as a dead body for a moment before it heated up. Before I could react, he jolted awake." She turned to me. I couldn't read her face. I looked at her with surprise, and then I felt un-relented affection toward her. I wanted to hold her close to me. She just saved me, like an angel.

"Well, there lies the solution. I'm guessing that you are familiar with this young lady's touch? Are you two lovers?" He chuckled insanely. I could feel a furious blush flood through my face, and I could guess that Aeris was also blushing. "No, of course not…" I said quickly. "We're just friends." Aeris said. She once again turned to me. She was blushing like I had predicted, but her eyes stood out. I looked deeply into them, but could not decipher them. I would've given anything to know what she was thinking right then and there. All of a sudden, my mother chimes in and says, "Don't bother doctor. They've been in love for years, but we can never get it out of them." "MOM!" I shouted. She just laughed and told me she was kidding. "Denialllll…" Pantsman said obnoxiously slowly and quietly to me. I don't think Aeris heard, thank God. I gave Pantsman a death stare, but he shrugged it off. God, I wish I had the same effect that Aeris has. The doctor stopped chuckling. "Yes, alright. Well, we still need to treat the wounds that Leo has."

We all had to stick around for a long time, mostly waiting for that damn X-Ray. Turns out that none of my ribs were broken, just miraculously heavily bruised. I did have a slight concussion from the gash, but the doctor told me I'd be fine, just to keep my gash covered and pad my ribs. A few days of rest and no strenuous activity and I'd be back on my feet, he had said. So we all walked out of the hospital together (I had put back on my normal clothes, with difficulty, I might add). I saw Aeris' parents on the way out. I guess they had driven her. I have no idea why, since she has a license (I still only have a permit). Maybe from the emotional damage of hearing me go to the hospital? Nah. Pantsman was the first to move off. "Like I told you earlier, I have to prepare for some crooks that might find and attack me." He turned and began walking away, but he called out, "Thanks again, Leo." I called back and said don't mention it. Aeris was the next one to leave. The adults kind of scampered off in opposite directions to their cars. I told my parents I'd be right there in a second. Before Aeris left, I caught her. I wanted to talk to her. This goodbye of the day was the only one that was awkward, and painful. I said a lot of things during this conversation. Some of them I meant to say, some of them just came out. Basically, I lost my common sense and just let it all out. I don't regret it.

*AERIS' POV*

"So I guess we didn't get to hang out today like we had planned?" Leo said kind of sulkily. "I guess not. But like I said before, we still have the whole break ahead of us." "Yeah, I guess we do." Awkward silence. "Aeris." I looked into his eyes. "Yes?" I asked. He took his time asking this question. "This was probably the only day in I don't know or care how long that you've been very nice to me. Why?" No bullshit, no getting off topic, nothing like that. Leo was right to the point, which he rarely was. It was a very weird question, but his still and kind of depressed face told me he was dead serious. I looked away, not sure what to say. "Well, when you're involved in a situation like this, it's wrong to make fun of you, or anything of the sort. Any other time when it's a casual situation and I will make fun of you. Are you saying you missed my abuse today?" I said slowly and half-heartily. I didn't say that the thought of him in a hospital scared the fuck out of me, but I'm sure he knew. Leo actually nodded to my words and said, "Of course I did. I don't like it when you are not you…" He looked as if he were about to cry. Seeing him like this caused me pain. I reached to hug him and held him. He did not hug me back. "What's wrong? Don't you like hugs?" I said lovingly. "The normal you would not have hugged me. I like it when you're affectionate, but now…I want to see you the way I always have. Angry and obnoxious, but still pretty cool." I let go of him, just so I could see his eyes. They weren't emerald green anymore. They were gray, almost lifeless. He was in the most unbearable pain, physically and metaphorically. Leo, the polar opposite of sorrow, fear, and anger, was not the same. I felt like I was about to cry seeing him this way. "Why are you being like this? The old Leo would have always kept that goofy expression on his face. He would do stupid things and not care of the consequences." My voice rose all the while when I said this.

He looked at me as a tear slowly trickled down his cheek. "I have reason, unlike you," he said. I was at a loss for words, so he continued. "I let something very precious to me disappear today." He reached out. I thought he was going to touch my cheek (or possibly my breast), but he didn't. He took hold of the Triforce pendant he had given me so many years ago I had on. He was close to me. Looking at him, he was missing something. Where was his collar and bell? "When I was hit by the car today, I flew backward through the heavens…" He was saying this with so much intensity that it was terrifying me. "I landed back to the ground with a mighty thud on my back. I looked up to the scene at hand. There was blood all over the ground. Pantsman was howling like a wolf. But the one thing that I cared about… the one thing that destroyed me…" He leaned in close to my face. "The bell that you had given me all those years ago was on the ground. Destroyed. Broken into an infinite number of pieces, and it was all my fault." He finished and then backed away from me, never looking away from my eyes.

That was honestly a very surprising thing to hear, but not for the bell being broken. Personally, Leo was so used to losing and breaking things that I was surprised that Leo had not broken the bell many years ago. I would not have cared if he did, and I did not care now. But Leo did. He was behaving in this terrifying way all because of that bell. That bell was what was causing all this trouble. Did he really value the bell that much? I mean sure, I valued my pendant a great deal and was careful to not lose it or have it stolen, but still. I know now just how much Leo values our friendship. He follows it almost like a religion. It's all his knows, and all he wants to know. But there's nothing wrong with that.

There had been silence for a long time. I knew I had to say something. Anything. But what could be said? He did not look convincible. Still, I knew I had to try. "Leo, if I knew that that bell would've caused you this much pain right now, I don't think I would've ever given it to you." Leo looked at me like I had just killed his parents and burned down his house. "You look like you're falling to pieces, and for what? Even if that bell had some sort of special friendship connection between the two of us, isn't our actual friendship worth a little more?" There was a faint glint of emerald in his eyes, so I knew I was helping him. I walked over to him and once again hugged him. This time he hugged me back, albeit after numerous seconds. "I'm so sorry that I overreacted and scared you, Aeris…" he whispered in my ear. I didn't say anything, but just enjoyed his embrace. When we pulled away his eyes were completely shining with green again. He smiled. I smiled back. He started laughing, just from all the ridiculousness of the previous moments. I laughed back. We laughed with each other for a long time. "So, do you want to hang out at my place tomorrow?" Leo asked anxiously. "What, are you an idiot? Of course I do!" I said mockingly, but jokingly. Leo beamed. Things were settling back to normal. When it was over, we said our goodbyes and headed off to our parent's cars. I'm glad we had had this conversation. I now know a little more about my best friend, and I'm happy.

*OVERVIEW*

And so, after stopping at separate fast food restaurants (neither family had dinner because of the hospital trip), Leo and Aeris went to their respective homes, to look back on the day. It was tragic because of the car, but pleasant and happy, from the conversation they had at the end. So while Leo and Aeris rest at their homes, how is Pantsman going to prepare against his enemies? Will we ever see Johnny Evilguy or Ternaldo in present time? Will Scott ever kindly give us another official VG Cats comic? Will there ever be Episode 12 of the VG Cats Adaptation with No Name? Possibly (but probably not) find out the answers to these questions and ask more questions in the next exciting chapter!

(End of Dec. 17. The next chapter begins Dec. 18.)


	7. Goldeneye

Ch.7

Goldeneye

"December 18"

_It was raining very steadily. Thunder clapped all along the heavens. I slid down the side of the cliff, quickly and silently, to meet with the figure ahead of me. He was crouching, his back arched slightly, gazing across the road. Several uniformed guards were patrolling the area. I could see a blocky watch-tower in the distance. When I was beside my friend, Alec turned and said, "Welcome to Russia." I nodded and said with my intense British accent, "Sorry I'm late. MI6 has given us the go away on the mission. We're all set to begin." My friend nodded and turned back to the road. "I see two guards in front of a stone wall. When that truck passes," he said pointing, "we'll slide down this cliff. I'll get the guard on the left; you take the one on the right." The truck took it's time passing the tunnel that we were securely on top of. We waited like hawks for our prey. I was busy thinking of how I would take my assigned guard out when Alec nudged my shoulder. We started stealthily making our way to the cliff side. Sliding down, the guards were only a few paces away._

"_I can't believe that we were ordered to wait out here," one of the guards said. "Ah, I agree. Ourumov worries far too much. What does he expect? An army?" the other guard laughed. "Either way, we're prepared to sound an alarm." These guys are morons, I though with much humor. We're not an army, but we might as well be. My position would've been given away, had I laughed, so I held it back. Alec had an intense look in his eye. He seemed way too eager to kill these guys. But it's our orders to eliminate as many "terrorists" as we so blatantly call them. When we were right on top of the guards, I gave Alec the signal. I flipped my guard over the stone wall and punched him in the throat. He was rendered completely subdued. His body vanished with a flicker of lightning. I picked up his AK-47. I turned to Alec, who had also just finished his guard off as well. He looked at the area that loomed ahead with his binoculars. It was a long time before he acknowledged my kill._

"_Nice work, Leo," he said smiling. "Just like old times?" I said back. He nodded. "Alright, up ahead are a watch-tower and several trucks with armed soldiers. You get the watch-tower. Be extremely cautious of the two snipers on it. If a guard sees you even for a moment, you only have a few seconds to disarm and kill them. If they get a single shot off, the whole area will be alarmed and our stealth mission will be in extreme jeopardy. Do you understand?" I nodded. "When we clear the area, we will hijack that truck directly outside that tunnel." He pointed out to the designated location. Alec was always the brains of the missions. He wasn't always that good at sneaking around, but his advanced use in heavy arms made up for it. For me personally, I specialized in stealth, but suffered in heavy shootouts. "For England, Leo?" There was a faint flicker in his eye as he said this. "Yes, Alec. For England. Always for England." "Alright, let's go." He went past the stone wall to find some cover closer to the trucks. I ambled my way to the watch-tower, finding some cover after crossing a small ditch. One of the guards on the tower was talking to a guard on the ground about something._

"_Why has he not called back yet?" one of them asked. "No idea. I guess there's really nothing to report anyway. Who'd dare try to sneak past us?" Me, I thought. "Either way, the helicopter has returned. It just landed on the heliport." Helicopter? They have good arms, I thought. Maybe I should get a picture for MI6… "Alright, is that all?" "Yes." I peeked out of my cover. The guard on the ground was walking away. I could see Alec in the distance behind a wall, trying to decide the best course of action. I shuffled to the staircase of the watch-tower. There was one of the two guards directly at the top of the staircase. Normally, I would've waited to see if the other guard showed himself, but we were running behind because of my late departure, so I had to act fast. I grabbed the one guard and punched him out. It was just then that the other guard saw me. He got a few shots in before ducking for cover and called for backup before I could shoot him. My vision was slightly red, and I was dizzy, but alive. Guards by the truck had grown alert, and had spotted Alec. I vaulted over the railing of the tower to assist him, bringing out my AK at the opportune moment. The guards also spotted and hammered bullets at me. I dodged a lot and got plenty of headshots, bur there were so many I wondered how Alec could've thought he'd be able to take these guys down. "Leo, fall back!" he shouted. I started running away, and then I was shot in the neck. I fell on my hands and knees, my vision gray and blurry. I couldn't get up. "LEO!" Alec shouted from so far away. Finally, one more shot got me. I fell flat on my face, and it was all over._

*LEO'S POV*

"Fuckballs!" I shouted as the game over screen came on. Aeris sniggered loudly and strolled over to where I was sitting on my bed. She grabbed my new golden controller from my hands and stuck her tongue out at me. She sat back down on the chair she had pulled up from my desk. I just sighed and started watching her. I had just gotten the new Goldeneye game a few days ago, but I had waited for Aeris. We didn't want to play multiplayer, because we had played a million FPS's online and with each other already. You can only make fun of creepy 12-year-olds online for so long. Or at least, I can. Aeris can go all night sometimes just trash-talking to the poor assholes that had the misfortune of earning her wrath in the first place. It's always a joy to see her angry when it's not me who she's mad at. We would've played Goldeneye yesterday, but we all know how that turned out.

My ribs were still in pain; I think I had slept on them the wrong way. Actually, come to think of it, why did I sleep on my stomach with the pressure on my ribs? I don't know; I guess I was really tired last night. I kept a pillow close by just in case Aeris flipped out over frustration on Goldeneye. I'm happy to say that things have returned more or less to normal between us. I still feel bad about the bell, but Aeris made it clear that everything was okay. I can't believe I lost myself during that whole spiel. But the saying goes to forgive and forget. I still can't believe she was so cool about it, but I'm not going to complain. My head was no longer hurting as badly, but that gash just made me look awful. It was like there was a bloody anus on my forehead. Gross, right? Yeah, it was. I kept a headband on, but the gash was big enough that you could still see part of it.

Aeris and I had been hanging together for the last hour, I guess. It was about 11:23 a.m. My parents were out running errands. There never go into specifics, but they imply enough that I probably would not want to know what they do or where they go. Aeris was kicking ass on Goldeneye. "You see, Leo, you have to sneak around. Be cautious and slow," she said. "Yeah, yeah…" I said. "But who makes an FPS that has a heavy focus on stealth?" Aeris just shrugged. "Is it any easier when you're in third-person and sneaking around?" She was already at the area after the truck chase (I had looked online and seen enough trailers to get a general grasp of the first level). "Have you played this game before?" I asked her. "Yeah. I've played a demo in the stores before. I was really excited when you bought, saving me the trouble of buying it myself to give to you and play whenever I was over here." Remember, she doesn't have a Wii. I chuckled and said, "You would've bought the game for me? It was like $70, controller included." She paused the game and turned to me. She looked a little miffed. "And what is that supposed to mean? Are you implying that I do not have any money? That my job does not pay me decently?" I raised my hands in front of my torso out of pure reflex. "No, no, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying…" My gaze softened from surprise and panic to secret affection. "It would have been extremely nice of you." I smiled. She looked at me for a second, then turned around and resumed her game. Her gaze had not changed, like it thought it would. I guess she had taken my words from last night very seriously. What was it? Something like, "I don't want you to be nice, because it doesn't suit you". Oh well. The norm was fine with me.

"Okay, Alec. I have the snapshots of the helicopter." "Got it. Hurry up to the rendezvous point. I'll meet you there." I frowned and eased myself on my bed. My back did not particularly hurt, even though I had landed squarely on concrete on it yesterday, but I didn't want to hurt my ribs in any way. Any kind of rash movement at all was enough to trigger a loud hiss from me. After all, the crazy doctor with the goggles had told me that many of them were just short of breaking. I covered my eyes with my left sleeve. I was so tired. You don't get much sleep when you're in pain. Usually, before I go to sleep, I toss and turn a lot, trying to decide which of my sides I would sleep on. It always calms me. But because of my ribs, I had to either lie flat on my back or flat on my stomach.

The noise of the game was enough to keep me awake until Aeris screwed up and tossed the controller back to me. I couldn't believe that she was already at the heliport snapping shots of the copter. Maybe I was so tired that I kind of lost track of how fast time went, but even so. Aeris was fast. It went on until I could hear the rendition of the song "Goldeneye", meaning Aeris beat the first level. I lifted myself up slowly to see the credits and hear the music better. When the second level started up, James Bond and Alec were busy talking about their plans to go through the facility. "I'll get the gas tanks." "I'll get the weapons cache." When control resumed, Aeris turned to me and said, "You wanna play?" "Sure." Aeris got up and started walking to give me the controller. "Just toss it to me," I said impatiently. Aeris gave me dirty look and said, "I don't want to accidentally hit your broken ribs, now why don't you thank me for letting y-" We weren't very far from each other from where we were sitting. I had kind of a big room, but still. She wasn't normally a clumsy person, but she began to trip. She was only about two paces away from me, so she landed directly on top of me. The controller had dropped from her hand as plain old shock splashed on her. Both of our legs were dangling off my bed. Her chest was touching mine. Her face was only inches apart from mine. I couldn't even feel the pressure on my chest; I was completely aghast as well. It was an interesting experience.


	8. Cowardice

Ch.8

Cowardice

*AERIS' POV*

Oh my God, what have I done? I stared down at Leo. He was shocked as well. Why wouldn't he be? A girl literally just threw herself onto him. My face flared with a blush, just as Leo's did too. Our eyes were held in an endless dance. I couldn't read them, though. A penny for your thoughts, I asked in thought but didn't say. His arms were off to the side, while mine were standing on either side of him. My chest was embarrassingly touching him. My legs were crossed over his. Had anyone walked into the room, it would've looked like I was trying to rape him. We remained there, just sitting that way for I don't know how long. Before I could stop myself, I was remembering the dream that I had during my nap yesterday. The one where Leo was on top of me, kissing me. Now I was on top of him. Should I kiss him? The thought crossed my mind, and I tried to wave it away, but it stuck like a fly on honey. What was I going to do? He was my best friend. Most of me wanted to keep him at a friendly distance, but a small shard of me wanted something more, ever since that dream. I didn't want to admit it, but the thought never ceased; it just grew.

I ended up not doing anything about our little set up. Leo gently raised his arms and wrapped them around my waist. For one brief moment, I thought he was going to make a move. But he didn't. He gently began to push me off him. I realized I had probably been hurting his ribs. He set me down on my feet, directly in front of him. I stood there as he sat, wondering what I should do…

*LEO'S POV, at the same time of the previous Aeris*

Wow, how lucky am I? Aeris was lying on top of me. The girl of my secret dreams threw herself to me. Okay, I realize that she had not meant to do it. She had just tripped as all. She lay before me, her arms on each side of me, her chest squished onto mine. I won't lie by saying it wasn't pleasant, but given the circumstances, you know… Her legs were crossed over mine, as if she intended on doing, uh, SOMETHING to me. Thank God my parents weren't home; they never knock. They just barge in with as much class and dignity as the Terminator. Her face was blooming with blush, and mine was too. Her eyes were dancing back and forth, as if she was desperately trying to decide what to do. Her lips were slightly agape, just like yesterday when I told her she was special to me.

An endless array of thought swished in and out of my mind as we just lay like this. That day I met her, Derek and Lily telling me about the rumors, Pantsman asking me if I liked her, her 15th birthday when I gave her the Triforce pendant, my bell busting from the force of the truck…For one brief moment, I would have liked nothing more for Aeris to kiss me, or for me to kiss her. But I knew better. Even as dumb as I was, I still had a bit of common sense; Aeris would kill me if I tried something. So instead of making a move at all, I grabbed her waist (not for the reason you sickos out there might think). I eased her off me (the pain sensation was back in my ribs the second she was off me, and I almost mewed with the pain) and set her down in front of me. All that was left was for her to say something, or for me to start crying from the cowardice and pain.

*AERIS' POV*

Once again, there was another long moment of silence. Looking at Leo's face, it seemed he had no idea on how to decipher just exactly what in the hell I was doing to him. His blush had dimmed a bit, but it was still quite prominent on his face. My own face was still dark with rushing blood. "I-I…" I finally stammered. Leo just looked down toward the floor and said, "I know. It was just an accident. Don't worry about it." He looked back up to me. He wasn't frowning or anything, but his eyes told me that he was in pain. Pain from my unintentional tease? "Let's just get back to the game. You can keep playing if you want. I think I'll get on the computer and listen to some music." With that, he rose and ambled to the computer. I'm guessing it was a ruse to avoid looking directly at me. That's actually why I didn't mention to him that he had an IPhone with music on it. I sighed, but not loudly enough for Leo to hear me. I picked up the golden controller that I had dropped, and turned to the game. I'm guessing it paused when it hit the ground. So I resumed playing, but the game was no longer as fun. I kept messing up on numerous occasions and getting spotted by the guards. I died over and over again. I was beginning to get mad at the game and frustrated with myself.

*LEO'S POV*

"…_Oh babe, I'm on fire, and you know I admire your body. Why don't we slip away-ay? Although I'm sure you're certain it's a rarity me flirting, sha-la-la-la this way-ay." _Once again, I was listening to one of my favorite songs, _Street Hassle_. I don't know why my nerves were so on edge. It was my own fault that I had chickened out when I had the chance to kiss her. The whole story on how much she would hurt me if I did was not affecting me anymore. I really wanted her, and badly too. Finally, after the song was almost over, my nerves eased up. I had to wait to finally do a move. Just at the right time. But how do you know when it's the right time? I don't, because I've never had a romance before. I closed the computer page with all the music on it and went back to my bed. I decided that it was best to act like the whole episode didn't happen. I needed to be as casual as I normally am, for the sake of both of us.

Watching her play again, I was kind of disappointed with her skill. She was messing up A LOT. What happened? I guess it was probably her way of vented out the emotions of the previous moment. Can't blame her; I was doing the same thing with music. She was dying so many times I was beginning to get worried for her. After one particularly embarrassing death, she threw the controller- my brand new $20 controller- up against the wall. It made a sharp cracking sound. The wall was intact, but I don't think the controller was.

"Aeris, what the hell!" I said. She turned to me. She was gritting her teeth very hard, and there was thunder in her eyes. I didn't care though. Normally, I would've just let her be, because you can't reason with Aeris when she's mad. Somehow though, I felt braver and more adequate for the given situation. She needs to treat my shit with respect or not play with it at all. Her face relaxed somewhat, and she said calmly, "Please Leo, not right now. Don't make me hit you when you're already injured." I just looked at her with a tense expression. I wasn't about to back down. Not now. "Okay, that's all fine as pie, but you need to treat my things with respect, _please_. If you break that controller, you pay for it." She rose from her chair and walked over to the controller. She picked it up and looked at me nonchalantly. She then extended her arm and slammed the controller against the wall. She did it was such casual force that the controller cracked quite a bit more. I looked at her as if she had just slapped me. I was getting really pissed off.

"Jesus fucks! Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" I shouted at her, rising (with slight difficulty). It was probably the first time that I had ever yelled at her. She had definitely settled to an all-time new low. She has broken controllers before, but always apologized for it. She has never intentionally broken anything of mine, though. I couldn't believe she was behaving this way, and for what? Over a tense period of HER tripping on ME, or some stupid difficulty on a game? Come on. I began walking toward her. She had crossed her arms but did not say anything. "Why did you do that? Can you honestly tell me why you just did that?" I asked her. She just looked at me, without the slightest trace of apology in her eyes. This did not help my mood. Not even slightly. I picked up the chair she was sitting on and threw it aside, close to the door. I was only a few steps away from her. Finally, she spoke up.

"Why did you make me trip on you?" she said. I gave her a look as if she was crazy. "I didn't. You're the one who accidentally tripped on me. Why are you making such a big deal about that?" She looked away from my gaze. Sometimes, I just don't understand her. Instead of dropping my anger and consoling her, I made a big mistake. I muttered under my breath, "You're such a crazy bitch." Apparently, she heard me. "What was that?" she asked intensely. I just kind of lost myself, right then and there, just like I had when I admitted to Aeris that the bell broke. But unlike sorrow, it was fury this time. "I said that you're a crazy bitch!" I shouted. Now she looked like she had been slapped, but that look only lasted for about a second. I knew that a hit was coming, because her fists were shaking. "Oh, what, Aeris? Are you going to hit me? Go right ahead! You've only been doing that for how many goddam years now! Here, I'll give you a free shot." I pointed to my chin and my balls. "Pick anywhere you want!" She picked the worst spot you could've possibly hit me, right then and there: my ribs.

"UAGHHHHHH!" I screamed as the horrific pain flooded through me. All the air from my lungs crashed, as if I had been punched in the stomach. I fell to the floor with a thud, gasping for air, clutching my ribs. It felt like they had broken, but they didn't. I writhed on the floor for I don't know how long. Finally, I looked back up at Aeris. She was shaking. Her face was a mixture of horror, anger, and un-relented sorrow. She looked like she was going to cry and never stop. I just looked at her with intense fear, and then that fear melted into hate. I looked at her incredibly fiercely and said quietly, "Get out. Get out of here. Now." She obliged, leaving me to bear with the pain in my ribs and the pain at what I had just done to my best friend.


	9. I Need a Friend

Ch.9

I need a friend

*AERIS' POV*

Do you ever get the feeling that you're moving through a dream? That something so reality shattering happens to you and you're not sure what's going to happen? That it feels like you could scream and scream until you go deaf, but it still won't save you? Well, that's pretty much how I felt just then and there. The images of the ugly scene that had just taken place kept playing over and over again in my mind like a psychotic circus movie. I walked nearly blindly through his house. So many tears were flowing out of my despairing eyes it felt that I would die if they did not stop soon. I bumped into walls and lamp stands all the while as I ambled for his front door. I didn't feel them. There was too much of a buildup of mental anguish. I almost fell down the stairs. Wouldn't that have been ironic if I did? After I had received several small bruises, I reached the cold, unfeeling door knob, and ran my way to the outside, which was dark with snow and possibly rain clouds. It wasn't cold; I hadn't taken off my jacket when I came to Leo's house.

Leo was upset. Leo was worried. Leo was in pain. I was slamming his new controller against the wall. It was revenge. He had hurt me. He had teased me. Wasn't it funny to see him react that way? His shocked face was laughable. To see him be hurt over a video game? I laughed silently as he tried to approach me, slowly rising from his bed from the pain in his ribs. Poor bastard. He moved to me and asked me why I did such a thing. I didn't answer. He threw his desk chair out of the way in frustration. Frustrated that I wouldn't talk to him? Did he really even want to hear my voice? He begged me to talk to me, over and over again, his sweating face anxious. "Why did you make me trip on you?" The words shot out before I could stop them. Leo was confused, and his gaze softened a little. Under the green, I could make out vague fascination and possibly amusement. I could read Leo like an open book. He told me that I wasn't making sense, but I was. Leo had planned the whole thing. It was a ruse to get closer to me. It was all a crazy ploy. I turned away from his gaze, unsure of what was going to happen. He muttered something. "What was that?" Leo then shouted to me that I was a crazy bitch. The words cut me to size. They slashed at me like a machete. Leo had final broken his vow of kindness and silent contempt. Anger coursed through me like scorpion venom. I was shaking. Leo told me to hit him, saying it was the only possible way that I could calm me down. I struck him in his ribs, and, and-

No, that's not what happened. Well, it is, but not entirely. I had stopped running outside and had stopped just one house short of my house, under a street lamp (the sky was literally so dark that they needed to turn the lights on). I wasn't going insane or being a lunatic. No matter how many tears I cry and beg myself to convince me otherwise, I can't lie to myself. The twists that I added to what I was thinking at the time of the incident were not true. I really don't know what I was doing. It was not his fault that things ended up going the way they did; it was all mine, and out of desperation, I tried to blame it on him. The moment I fell on him is just something that is unbearably sad to think about, and I don't know why. It wasn't even a big deal. Leo understood that it was an accident, didn't he? Maybe I am going crazy. Maybe subconsciously I put myself out to him, just as he did when he ripped his shirt off in front of me. Oh wait. That's actually a funny story.

We were messing around, making fun of Prince of Persia one day, or something like that; I don't really remember what game we were making fun of was. I think Pantsman was taking pictures to try and make them into a web-comic or something, but I'm really not sure. You could make a whole novel about the shit that Leo does, let me tell you. Anyway, Leo starts ripping off pieces of his shirt, claiming that there are little bits of dust on each piece he tears. I thought that was bullshit, but he ended up with both sleeves ripped off. I wasn't quite sure how to react. His arms were kind of muscular for someone who spends all his time playing video games. I call him an idiot for ruining his shirt, but he says that he doesn't care. All of a sudden, he tears the torso part of his shirt, making the whole thing slide off of his arms. Like his arms, his upper body was also pretty muscled. I start blushing. Leo looks over to me. At first there is surprise in his eyes, then the gaze relaxed and he smiles warmly. He lifts his arms up into an arch. "Sexy, no?" he said. He then faked a roar, trying to make it sound deep and sexy. I couldn't say anything, but just kept gawking. Fucking Pantsman got the whole thing. However, Leo being Leo, he ruined it my saying he had dust on his pants. I finally just said good-bye. I always remember that, because it was Leo basically putting himself out to me. Even if it wasn't serious, it meant something to me. I think I may have involuntarily done the same to him when I tripped on him. Even if I did though, I fucked it all up.

Any way you slice it, things went the way they did. I threw and slammed Leo's controller against the wall, which made him mad. He got up from the bed and walked toward me. I didn't say anything. He suddenly threw the chair I had been sitting on away out of frustration. He really wanted, no NEEDED for me to say something. Anything to explain my behavior. I admit, it was pretty low for me. Even through all the bad things I had done to Leo, physically or otherwise in the past, this was very bad because it was so uncalled for. Before it even registered in my brain, before any thought went into it whatsoever, I blurted out, "Why did you make me trip on you?" It didn't make any sense, as my un-shown surprise and Leo's shocked face proved. It wasn't even his fault, and yet I was claiming it was. Why had I said something like that? Ugh, that question will haunt me to my grave. Leo asked me what I was talking about, but I couldn't say; nothing could've compensated for my words. I looked away from his gaze, expecting a comforting touch on the shoulder, like Leo had done so many times in the past. But instead, he broke a vow of chivalry by calling me a "crazy bitch". When I asked him to repeat his words (because he muttered), he screamed in my face that I was a crazy bitch. When those words came to me, I blotted out everything else. Suddenly, Leo's frustration over the controller and my cryptic sentence were nothing to me. All I could see was red in Leo's comment. Even worse, he began to taunt me, calling me out on the fact that I could only solve problems by means of drastic violence. Looking back, this was actually very contradictory to what he had told me last night, about how he begged me to be mean and stay the same like I always had. I figured at the time that Leo's reaction to his bell being broken was his ultimate catharsis, but it turned out not to be. When Leo called me a bitch, he let out even more than he did previously. Here is where the regret comes in, even more so than starting the whole incident in the first place.

My fist swept. There was no crack. Leo screamed as the air burst out of his lungs. It was a horrific sound that almost made him sound like an old man with lung cancer. Before he launched backward from the pain, he looked into my eyes. His eyes told me that he was afraid. Afraid of how his whole world was slowly collapsing upon itself. But I could only see his face for a split-second. He fell backward on his side, clutching his rib cage, shaking like he had a high fever. He was whimpering. It was a long time before I could see clearly again. When I saw Leo on the ground, I nearly screamed. I knew that my own actions had led to this. I looked down on my hands. There was no sign that they had punched Leo, save for the inconsistent shaking. I stared down at Leo as if I was a God, but I wasn't. I was a monster. I was a devil. The emotions cracked through. I didn't let out the worst of it until Leo stopped shaking. He slowly found my gaze. He was a lion. "Get out. Get out of here. Now." He growled. I couldn't just refuse. I quickly ran out of his room, and here I am now, in the dark.

The tears had stopped streaming and were reduce to mere sobs. I began to move again, just walking this time, to home.

*LEO'S POV*

I don't know how long I was on that damn floor, but I didn't care. There was no rush to get up, no rush to think, no rush to do anything. Even if there was, I'm not sure I could've gotten up. Aeris had run out of my room, sprinting to get out of my house, and who could blame her? I heard many bumps and thuds as she moved. I'm guessing she was too distracted to really care. Finally, the front door opened and slammed closed, and I was alone. The tears came, and I just let them. The air itself was tense had what it had just felt. I screamed into my carpeted floor.

What had happened that led to all this? Where were the happier times? I just didn't understand. None of our other arguments ever led to something this intense. Maybe that was due to the fact that this was the only one that I had ever raised my hand against Aeris' will. My parents had taught me better, all about chivalry and that shit. The more I thought about it, though, the more I felt that there really was nothing for me to apologize for. Was it so wrong for me to be mad at Aeris for breaking my video game stuff? If it had been be me who had broken her stuff, I can guarantee that she would not have been as forgiving as me. Well, maybe it was wrong for me to call her out on her violence flaws, but I still feel that that subject needed to be addressed.

_Do you still love her?_ A voice inside my head asked. I couldn't answer. For there was nothing to say. That reminded me of more lyrics to _Street Hassle. "Love has gone away. And there's no one here now, and there's nothing left to say. But oh, how, oh I miss him baby…Aw, baby. Why don't you slip away?" _Somehow, through the tears, I managed to chuckle. It felt good through the pain. I played my silent song for myself until it lulled me to sleep.

It was a while before I woke up. Looking around, the room was the same as it had been left. I hadn't moved. Aeris was still gone. The pain in my ribs never subsided. I decided to call Pantsman and see if he could come over. I needed to tell him about what happened. He might know how to fix it. Good thing that my phone was in my pocket, because if it was on my desk or bed, I would be stuck in limbo until my parents got home. The phone showed the time. It was 1:36. I began dialing the number. It rang several times before Pantsman finally answered. "Hey, Scott. How's it going?" There was a faint slam in the phone. "Fine, just fine…I'm a little busy right now. Is there something in particular you need?" "Yeah, I need a friend. Aeris was over at my house a few hours ago. We got into a fight, and she stormed off. I'm on the ground up in my room right now, not able to move because of my pained ribs. If you could come over, I really need to someone to talk to about the whole mess." There was silence on the other line for a long time before he finally said, "Alright. I'll be over in a little while. Oh, shit!" There was some faint rustling and a big slam in the background. "Everything alright over there?" I asked, concerned. "Yeah, it's all fine. So I'll be seeing you in a bit." "Alright." I hung up, slightly baffled.

In reality, it was not fine. Pantsman was in serious trouble.


	10. Ternaldo Rage, OMG

Ch.10

Ternaldo Rage, OMG

*PANTSMAN'S POV*

It was pretty early in the morning for me to be up; usually I sleep until noon. But today, I had gotten up around 10 and just gotten back from the store. It was 11:16 by the time I got back. I set my bag of groceries down on the dirty apartment floor. I reached in the pocket of the pants on my head for my keys. Unlocking the door, I grabbed my bag and stepped into the living room of my filthy apartment. It was just like any other typical apartment, it's just that I didn't take very good care of it. There was a lot of garbage on the floor, mostly just wrappers from food and boxes from the Chinese place down the street. I had a small TV in the living room, nothing really special. Only thing is I didn't have cable. Or satellite. All I had was a DVD player and a Super Nintendo hooked up to it. That's fine, though; at least I had internet. The kitchen was directly across from where the front door was. There was a bathroom directly beside it. I didn't have much food left, but I had bought enough to make myself last a little longer. I sometimes found roaches and spiders in the sink and cabinets, but I didn't really care; this was my home, after all. I walked to the kitchen and set down my bag, taking out its contents: a few TV dinners, a few bags of Doritos, a six-pack of unbranded beer, a small bottle of whiskey, and my favorite, vodka. I put every thing up except one bottle of the beer. I strolled over into my bedroom (the only one in my apartment) and sat down on my bed to have a drink. It was right in front of my desk where I worked and my computer. The bottle was a twist off. Good thing too, because I don't have a can-opener. I meant to buy one, but I forgot. The beer tasted alright, but somehow made my throat dry.

After I finished it in silence, I strolled over to my desk to try and come up with a comic idea for my eager fans online. I run my own website, even now. It's something I call "VG Dogs". It's basically these little video game parodies condensed into a comic strip, revolving around two best friends named James and Tifa (who are fictional anthropomorphic dogs) that constantly poke fun at video games and sometimes movies. I've worked on it for about 10 years now, all the way since 2001 (starting when I was bored at work). God, how long ago was that, huh? The fan-base has grown happily huge. By now, I have just under 300 comics on the site, and most of them I'm pretty proud of. Fans have grown really ravenous for new material over the years. I remember a few years ago when I would have a new comic out every single Monday of each week. I remember that, back when it was easy to make them.

You see, I was on top of the world from 2001-2006. I was practically churning out comics. While Leo and Aeris refuse to admit it even now, many of the antics in my comics are completely inspired by antics they get into on a regular basis, by which I mean the games they played with video game stars. The comic even included little joke versions of Krug, Ternaldo, and Johnny Evilguy in the comic. People loved to see these characters go head to head ahead the video game stars that they so boldly made fun of. In January of 2006, my friend Chris made an animated flash starring James and Tifa from the comic. It was pretty funny and popular; that damn cop always had me in stitches. However, he only made one episode out of a planned series. He was about to start production on another one, but we got into a heated argument about something I don't even really remember. He stormed out, and I never saw him again. He never made another episode. This incident left me very clinically depressed.

In October of 2006, I started taking drugs and drinking heavily, especially vodka. There was this one incident where I was at a party and had so much to drink that I took off the pants on my head and my legs and started streaking all over the place. Some douchebags whom I live around call me "Peter Pantsless". My friends soon staged an intervention that didn't really work, cuz I'm still drinking. At least I stopped taking cocaine and PCP, though. More vague personal problems plagued me. Since, it's gotten harder to focus on my work. In 2008, I kind of stopped making the comics entirely for a while. Many video game stars had been threatening to sue me. Some finally did in April of 2008.

Fox, Falco, and Wolf were all apparently very angry over that one comic where I question their sexualities. It was just an innocent joke, nothing more, where Tifa dreams of them kindling in something more than space cadet training, if you know what I'm sayin'. Still, the three fuckers with no senses of humor hired that one awesome lawyer from that one game that I can't remember the title of. "He's the best lawyer in the land!" they'd all shout gloriously. Well, they were wrong, and I ended up being innocent, but that wasn't the lawyer's ineptitude. I had not done anything illegal. Satire isn't slander. Still, the trial had really hurt me. Even if you're not found guilty, a court trial costs both the plaintiff and the defendant sides money. The money cost was enough to set me back to the point where I had to move into this dingy old apartment I'm in today. This discouraged me even further and the idea of closing my website had crossed my mind, but a small glimmer of hope came to me in March of 2009.

A very cool guy named Edwyn started taking the VG Stuff comics and adding voices to them. He got a whole bunch of his friends to help him out and started making several episodes, one or two per month, all throughout that year, and posting them on Youtube. They're dubbed "The VG Dogs Adaptation with No Name". My fan base swelled because of the guy, and I started making comics again, but at a slower pace. My idea sensibilities were starting to re-circulate back into me. Things went well, until the New Year celebration.

Edwyn decided that he was kind of getting bored of making the episodes, plus he was running out of comics that he thought needed voices. I think he was also having personal problems, caused he mentioned in the 11th episode that he was beginning to get into bad mood swings. I can guess that this affected his relationships with his co-voice actors, and I understood the situation. He made 11 amazing regular episodes, a Halloween special, and a Christmas special. He then vanished without a trace. I was still making more comics by this time, but my pace was much slower. By the time 2010 rolled around, a lack of ideas on my part really started frustrating me to no end. Fans have been getting angry due to the lack of updates. Some claim that they're lucky if they get a new comic once every 3 months. I argue with many people that it's not that extreme. In fact, I get enough hate mail that I play a game called "Fuck-Outs". It's where I find a message of hate mail that someone has sent me, then send them a message back telling them to go fuck themselves. It's like a shout-out, but it's a fuck-out because it's slander. Other nicer and more patient fans have simply resorted to making their own VG Dogs comics and fanfiction stories, and I say that's pretty cool. Most of them believe that there's a romance between James and Tifa hidden under James' abusive temper and Tifa's oblivious stupidity (a direct flipside to Leo and Aeris' natures). Many fans continually ask me if there is a romance in the canon comics. I never answer, preferring to keep them in suspense and imagination. Things have gone on this way even now in present time.

As I said, the comic is inspired almost entirely from Leo and Aeris. It seems that as more and more people make fanfictions of VG Dogs, their relationship is steadily getting closer. Leo has already admitted to me that he likes Aeris, so there we go. With Aeris' nature, though, I kinda doubt that Leo will ever get somewhere with her with all of his internal organs intact, just like how it's doubtful that James and Tifa will ever get close to each other in my comics. Still, you never know. Leo is probably making his move even as we speak. Hopefully, he won't blow it.

So here I am, wracking my brains for an idea on a new comic. Leo and Aeris are no longer much help because ever since they started high school, the two have chilled out quite a bit, by which I mean they don't go around making fun of video game characters as much anymore. Back on the subject, maybe a parody of the Angry Video Game Nerd? Nah, he'll sue… A conversation between James and Tifa where Tifa says she misses Star Trek and James explains to her that he does too because he has a picture of the captain from the Next Generation next to his computer but then in a dramatic plot twist Tifa doesn't know who the old guy is and claims she loves Sisko instead and James tells her to get out of his room? Nah, people wouldn't find that funny. I certainly don't and I'm the writer behind the whole VG Dogs website, for Chrissake. Just as I'm lost in frustrated thought, I hear a knock on my door.

"Oh, I wonder who that could be." I said sarcastically aloud. "Alright, I'm coming. Please stop knocking on my door." I shuffled to the door. The unknown knocker was still knocking. It's not like the apartment walls were created with reinforced concrete, but hot damn, the knocker sure acted like it; he could've easily heard my words. I unlock the door and open it, to see Ternaldo standing there. He was dressed in his traditional black hoodie, with a green shirt underneath and red jeans. He had his stupid grin on his face. "Uh, hi Ternaldo…" I said slowly. "Hey, Pantsman. Say, do you wanna play Magic the Gathering with me?" He pulled two small boxes out of his pocket of what I assume to be the playing cards in question. I gave him a glum look and said, "We've played that game thousands of times. How can you still stand it?" His expression didn't change, and we just stared at each other for a moment. "So do you wanna play or what?" I would've slammed the door in his face, but it's not like there was really anything else to do. The comic brain-storming was a bust anyway, like it almost always is, so…

Ternaldo stepped in. "Nice place you've got here," he said with a lot of enthusiasm. I closed the door behind us. "You've been here before, Ternaldo. You know it is shit." Again, Ternaldo did not respond, as if I hadn't said anything. He ambled his way to my couch just in front of the TV. I had another smaller couch and a chair near it with a tiny table in between, so we could just play sitting in front of one another. "So, do you wanna play as green or red?"

Even as much as I despised the game, I still probably knew more about the game than Ternaldo did. He has absolutely never made a deck with more than just one of the 5 colors in it. He also stuck to only one main block of cards at a time (a block is a whole release of different cards in that game). Right now, he was as far back as Kamigawa, which is terribly funny and horrifically sickening. Kamigawa was probably the worst set out of the entire game. It was all based on legendary cards, and if you don't know the mechanics of the game, well, this will be very boring for you, but anyway; there can't be two of the same card on the battlefield if they're legendary, otherwise they'll just go to the graveyard. With Kamigawa, 85% of the cards were legendary. Imagine my frustration in the past when I've had a legendary creature in play, then Ternaldo plays the same card and mine bites the dust. It fucking sucks. You might think I'm the ultimate nerd knowing so much about a really nerdy game like Magic the Gathering, even more so than a guy who actually plays it on a regular basis, but that's what happens when you hang out with the kind of people that I do. Ternaldo with his card games, Leo with his music (especially Lou Reed), Aeris with her Twilight books/movies and miscellaneous anime, Krug with his usually inept attempts at embarrassing me by trying to dye my clothes pink, Johnny Evilguy with his nutsack, and Mr. Schwartzen Cop with his victimization of any person who rents or buys a game that even has the slightest chance of being bad (like Riddick). Just for the record, Leo and Aeris are a little more private about their game tastes more so than other forms of media, ever since Schwartzen shot Leo in the face. By the way, how did Leo manage to survive that just fine, but just barely come out of being hit by a car? I dunno; maybe he really does have 9 lives. I guess you could say he's a "miracle" cat.

I was already not looking forward to my little game with Ternaldo, but again, with nothing better to do, I figure we could sit down, maybe drink a little beer, and have some fun. Ternaldo was already unpacking each deck but I hadn't sat down yet. I strolled on over to the fridge. "I'll take red. I'm gonna get a beer; do you want one?" I called. Ternaldo didn't say anything for a bit, but he finally called "Nah." Beer in hand, I sat down on the chair directly in front of him. The deck was already before me. Ternaldo was hastily shuffling his deck, swishing them back and forth in his hands like delicate knives. I set my beer down and looked through my deck. It was shuffled, and there seemed to be good cards in it, so I'd be fine. A few games and I'd ask Ternaldo to go find something else to do. "Ready," I said. He looked up and set his deck down, drawing the top 7 cards from it. As he did this, I noticed something odd about him. There was a small black ear-bud in his left ear. It had a quirky red circle with a large "I" in it on the face of the bud. I didn't find anything wrong with that; he was probably just listening to music, or a self-help tape. If only I had known what it really was…

Well, forget about me asking Ternaldo to leave, because I never did. We had been playing for the last hour and a half. The game wasn't like it has usually been in the past. It was actually bearable. Both decks ended up being pretty balanced, so there were several close games. By the end of our 7th game, I had a few more beers and was planning on cracking open the whiskey. So putting down my deck, I got up to use the bathroom. "Alright, just don't take too long," he said dryly. As I walked by, Ternaldo continued to sit where he was, but he was kind of fidgeting around. He was scratching the side of his face, close to where that black ear-bud was. Again, I didn't see anything wrong with that, since I've seen Ternaldo act weird before. I continued on my merry way without another word.

"Ah, the bathroom stall," I whispered to myself as I began peeing. "Privacy AND functionality. Truly, the gentlemen's pee." I chuckled under my breath. Leo was so freaking funny sometimes, but that one incident with him at that restaurant…It was like lightning in a jar. Krug, Johnny Evilguy, and I all gave him such crap about that. He sometimes got so pissed at us that I wondered when he'd finally lose his shit and murder one of us. Actually, he did do that with Ternaldo that same night. See, he doesn't like to bring this up, but that night that Ternaldo's shit exploded onto his face, he came out of the bathroom and did something horrible to him. At the time, the rest of us had no idea why Leo was covered in shitty water, but that didn't stop us from laughing our asses off at him. Especially Aeris. I thought she was going to have a goddam aneurism. So Leo just makes his way to Ternaldo, with the back to the rest of us. I hear a faint zipper and stop laughing. I then began to hear running water and Ternaldo screaming. "OH GOD, MY EYES!" he shouted. This made everyone stop laughing and try to see what was going on. Other bystanders at the restaurant looked to, and by their expressions, they must've had a much clearer view of what Leo was doing. Finally, the sound of running water stopped. I heard a zipper zip back up, and Leo turned around, a strangely satisfied look on his smug face. Ternaldo looked like he had seen a ghost. His face was soaked, and his mouth was agape. He looked like he had been through the bowels of Hell itself. It was at this point that I figured out what Leo had done. Leo sat back down next to Aeris without a single word. Aeris had a disgusted and shocked look on her face; I'm guessing that she also figured out what Leo had done. He picked up his menu and looked at it for a while, then said nonchalantly, "Think I'll get the chicken." Leo and Ternaldo later became friends again, so it's not all bad.

Just as I was finishing the piss of my own, I hear a faint but obvious beeping sound, then a loud crash. I zipped up my pants and trotted out to see the commotion. Ternaldo was crouching onto the couch he was sitting on. My chair had been thrown aside. "What the hell, dude?" I said to him. He snapped his neck toward me like a gunshot. His eyes were red and bloodshot. His mouth was quivering. He looked like an angry bear (though I don't know his species, he could very easily pass off as a bear). He jumped off of the couch on all fours and started running toward me like a wolf. I had just enough time to jump out of the way. He bumped into a wall, causing a weird shaking motion in it for a moment. "Whoa, dude! What the fuck has gotten into you?" I shouted. He didn't answer, but continued ripping his way toward me. I ducked into my room and quickly closed the door. There was a series of scraping noises on my door. The noise soon stopped, then a running sound issued followed by more crashing. Ternaldo was losing his mind and destroying my apartment!

I hurried to my closet and got out my tranquilizer handgun. Despite me being a superhero, I still preferred not to kill people, especially one of my friends. It's silenced, so I can even sneak around in the dead of night, like Sam Fischer from Splinter Cell. I placed six darts into it then rushed out the door. Ternaldo had been in my kitchen. There was glass all over the fridge, meaning he found the rest of my drinks. There was a scent of alcohol in the air like stagnant water. You can fuck up my apartment, burn down my church, rape my lady (though I don't have one right now), and even punch me in the balls…But the second you take my vodka away, that's when I get mad. Now, Ternaldo was back in the living room, threatening to break my television. "Hey, fugly!" I shouted. He turned his fat head around and stared back at me. He then came charging. I got a bullet off on him, just on the underside of his arm, as I leapt out of the way. Ternaldo seemed unaffected, so I was about to fire another bullet off, when all of a sudden, my damn cellphone starts ringing. I gingerly took it out of the pants pocket in my head pants to see who it was. On the picture of the phone was a big-eyed, open mouthed Leo with a small subtitle under his face that said, "LOOOOOOOOOL! You got a call from Leo." Worst possible time, much? I pressed the talk key just as Ternaldo rushed at me again.

"Hey, Scott. How's it going?" Leo said. He sounded angry and upset. There was no sign of him sniffling, so I knew he wasn't crying. Ternaldo jumped at me again and I dodged. He and landed directly into another wall, causing another loud slam. Pretty soon, the neighbors would be knocking on the walls telling me to shut up. I shot Ternaldo again, missing his torso in favor of his left leg. "Fine, just fine…I'm a little busy right now. Is there something in particular you need?" I asked him. Ternaldo was gearing up for yet another charge. He just would not quit. Leo took his sweet ass time answering, and he finally said, "Yeah, I need a friend. Aeris was over at my house a few hours ago. We got into a fight, and she stormed off. I'm on the ground up in my room right now, not able to move because of my pained ribs. If you could come over, I really need to someone to talk to about the whole mess." He sounded thoroughly depressed, and I knew I had to help him. It's just that I was a bit pre-occupied at the moment. I wondered how I should answer him, just as Ternaldo jumped at me again, this time not colliding with a wall. "Alright. I'll be over in a little while. Oh, shit!" I said. Ternaldo had grabbed the chair he had knocked to the floor and threw it at me like a javelin. I ducked onto the floor, and the chair broke against the front door. "Everything alright over there?" Leo asked calmly. "Yeah, it's all fine. So I'll be seeing you in a bit." I said, hoping not to worry Leo. "Alright." I heard him hang up the phone, and I did the same.

By now, Ternaldo was really slowing down. He stilled jumped at me from time to time, but the anesthetics were working wonders. I delivered a third shot on him, just in the center of his torso. He stumbled and fell to the ground. I lowered my gun. I was panting and sweaty by now. This little outburst had definitely been exhilarating, but very disturbing as well. Why had Ternaldo lashed out at me? I needed to check it out.

So I stroll over to where Ternaldo is knocked out. On the black ear-bud of his, there's a tiny antenna sticking out of it that wasn't there before. I crouched down above where he was, and placed my hand on the bud to take it out and inspect it. I touched it, and- BZZZZZZZZZAP! The fucking thing shocked me! It felt like a taser. I jolted back and landed on my back, just like Leo had. The shock was strong enough that I couldn't feel my legs. Surprising, because the rest of my body felt fine, even my fingers where I touched that. I have no idea where the logic is in all that, but I'm not making it up. I then hear a small crackling toward the front door. I turned my head to see the commotion.

"Fucking damn lock…How do simpletons like the attendants in an apartment know anything about REAL locks? Why, when I was a wee lad, I could build a lock that could defend against a damn train attack…" I heard a shrill, nasally voice mutter. The rustling then stops, and the door opened. I knew I should've locked all the locks, I thought with a sigh. In the shadows, I couldn't make out anything, except a small reflection of light. It looked alien in the darkness. Finally, the intruder stepped into the limelight.

He was dressed in a doctor's scrub. It was a light turquoise shade. His black hair was extremely messy and shining with grease from many an unwashed night. His gloved hands were anxiously moving around each other. His grin was that of a psychotic murderer. Where his eyes should have been was a large pair of swirly goggles. They reflected an intoxicating rainbow of light. The shrill man must not have been taller than 6 feet. "Oh, hello. Am I interrupting a party?" He quickly uttered an open laugh, and then resorted to a maddeningly shrill giggling. It took me a long time to recognize him, but once I did, I felt nervous, like I was going to have a panic attack. He was the same doctor that treated Leo when he had his accident. He strolled over to where Ternaldo and I were captivated. "You can trust me, boy," he said staring down at me. "I'm a doctor."

Author's Note:

I think it sucks that you aren't given a description box to tell what each chapter is about on , but whatever. I'm glad you guys like my story. Sorry it took so long for another chapter. In this chapter, I tell a bastardized version of the VG Cats origins. It's mostly accurate, but some of it I made up. Hope you enjoy!


	11. Homage to Dr Insano

Ch.11

Homage to Dr. Insano

*PANTSMAN'S POV*

The doctor let out another shrill explosion of laughter as I continued to lie of the ground, completely unable to move my paralyzed legs. A million questions swam through my mind like fish as I tried to comprehend what exactly the doctor was doing here. Was he responsible for Ternaldo's erratic behavior? To answer my own question, of course he was; why else would he be here? To rape me?

"Well, I suppose you're wondering just what in the hell the doctor who treated your little gray friend is doing here, right? By the way, how is he?" the doctor said. I took my time thinking, not sure if I should say anything. The doctor merely shrugged and pulled a little capsule from a pocket in his coat. Or actually, it wasn't a capsule; it was a small penlight. He pressed a miniscule button on it and a small laser shot out of it. The laser hit my bathroom door, leaving a hole about the size of a quarter in its wake. "I believe I asked you a question," he said sweetly calmly. "Now if you don't answer, just try to imagine what this laser can do for your forehead and brain if it left that much of a hole in your door…" Intimidating, much? Fuck yes. I finally spat out, "Okay, what are you doing here? And yes, my friend Leo is doing just fine."

"Ah, glad to hear Leo is doing fine. I must say, he has probably been my most favorite patient, simply because it seems he does have 9-lives. Like a miracle cat, really…" The doctor began to walk away a bit, just lightly strolling along my home, like HE owned the place. "How do you figure?" I asked. Nothing good would come from the situation if I panicked and let out my scarred emotions, so, like a true superhero, I braced myself for the conversation. "Oh, well, nothing, really. You wouldn't understand anyway, plus the plot device would directly be cheating off of someone else, so you might as well ignore my previous statement, as in this world, it is rendered obsolete and redundant." The doctor snapped his head toward one corner of the room, as if he were looking in a camera, or a live studio audience. I was dumbfounded, so I asked, "What the fuck are you talking about?" The doctor glanced at me, and said, "Perhaps a certain person from beyond will know what I'm talking about." Once again, he snapped his neck to face that one corner of my ceiling. Okay, this guy was officially nuts.

"Ah, how rude of me? I don't believe I ever introduced myself. My named is Doctor Crazo!" He pushed a button on the penlight that made a sound like thunder clapping, then he started laughing again. This guy was like a cross between the Joker and…uh, insert random trademarked evil doctor character here. I looked at him with amusement and said, "Doctor Crazo? You mean like _'Dr. Insano'_ from the_Spoony Experiment_? No originality whatsoever." He suddenly blushed and yelled, "Shut up! That character is trademarked and you know it!" He then walked over to me and kicked me in the stomach. Not very hard, though. His legs were meagerly muscled. I'm guessing he didn't get out often. Still, the impact made me utter a small "Oof!" sound.

"Bah!" he said. "I'm a completely legitimate evil-doer who's far superior to pathetic old Dr. Insano! And just like with all great evil-doers, I think I will tell the story of my life much in the same tradition as a James Bond villain." And so he did.

The story itself didn't last terribly long, but was damn boring. Supposedly, all Dr. Crazo ended up being was a split-personality of some cynical bitter bastard named Noah who wished to take over the world. This was probably the only self-aware split personality I've ever seen. I can imagine M. Bison shouting "Of course!" somewhere in the world. So it's really not important to know the back story of this guy, but just know that he's a crazy doctor. The cliché is immaculate.

"So, getting back to the original basis, you're probably wondering just what in the hell I'm doing here, and why you're retard friend here flipped out on you, right?" I was kind of dozing, so I didn't really hear him. "HEY!" he shouted. I snapped awake and said, "Yes, yes I do." Doctor Crazo went over to the small couch and pulled it along to sit right in front of me. "Well, as you may know, a select group of evil-doers such as me have lately not been taking lightly to your street justice, and let's face it; who can blame us? You literally just walk down the street and punch random people sometimes, hoping that we're bad guys." I nodded my head. Everything he was saying was completely accurate. "Well, I was one of those guys you punched. I met up with more people who have shared the same fate as I. The group of people was quite expansive. You even punched people from the Justice League, like Batman and Superman. They told me that you like to harass them, am I right?" He shuffled uncomfortably a little bit. "Before I go on, can you tell me why this couch sucks so hard? Ah well, I've been through worse; no worries…" I must admit, that couch was kind of rough. I would've been frightened over him trying to kill me, but his voice was so horribly cracked that it was a struggle not to burst out laughing. You think it's annoying and scary at first, and then it just becomes hilarious. You'd had to have heard his voice to really do your imagination justice, though. The only thing still worrisome was that laser, but he talked so much I wondered if he would ever use it again.

"The Justice League ordered the other fellas who had been punched to kindly get you to stop your vigilante work, without the need for violence or killing. Basically, the job was just to issue you a warning. I happily volunteered. Too bad they don't know that I'm evil. You see, the goggles are obviously an indication that I'm evil. Luckily, I'm just a split-personality, and my real form is just a typical guy. I first met everyone in my inconspicuous form, which is why they trust me. They told me to not kill you, but they didn't tell me what I couldn't do to you…" He giggled again. The fear was beginning to come back. "The whole controlling your best friend thing was just a ruse. A warning. I met up with him several hours ago, only a few buildings from your apartment complex, and told him that you wanted to play Magic the Gathering with you after he came back from the store-" I blurted out, "How did you know where I was and where I would be?" The doctor giggled again, this time much more quietly, almost like a demented chuckle. "I bugged the pants that you wear atop your head. I found out your laundry place from that red blob, I think his name was Krug, and placed a special stealth-camouflaged tracking device/microphone/camera/easy bake oven on it." He clapped. I could feel a slight rustling on my pants then a quick jolt on it. A tiny robot had jumped and landed in the doctor's hand. He closed his fist around it, and when it opened, the robot was gone. Now I was thoroughly scarred. Despite his voice and his hilariously short temper, when you came right down to it, he was the next big doctor villain. "I'm proud of that little bit of cutting edge technology, but what I'm especially proud of is that I took some $5 nano-machines that Roy Campbell sells and turned then into mind control devices. You wanna know how I do it?" I knew better than to not act like I did, so I said bleakly, "Sure…" He then rose up from the couch and said, "With science, of course!" He then sat back down.

"So anyway, I told Ternaldo what you doing and where you planned to be. I gave him the lone black ear-bud (not telling him of its radio capabilities), telling him it would announce the latest Yu-Gi-Oh set of cards if he wore it long enough. I didn't see him take it, but I felt a whoosh of air on my hand and the next thing I knew, he was wearing the ear-bud. I bid him cheerio and started walking in the other direction. I found an alleyway and sat there, reading the data from the tracking device to assess when I could tell your friend when you were back. When I saw you go up your apartment, I gave Ternaldo the signal. I eased my head out of the alleyway to see him approaching your building. When he entered the front door, I slowly followed in pursuit.

"You were busy working on new material for your web-comic before Ternaldo knocked on your door, correct?" I nodded curiously. "Well, just for the record, I'm a huge fan of your work." I forgot that he was evil for a second, and said brightly, "Oh, really? Well, I'm glad you like my stuff. What's your favorite comic?" He giggled a little more and said, "The one where Tifa is hosting an episode of 'Teh W0rd' and explaining why modern gamers are mindless, undedicated assholes." I laughed a little, because that one was also my favorite. Remembering the situation, I shook my head quickly and said, "Okay, that's all fine and dandy, but what does that have to do with anything." The doctor shrugged and said, "Well, nothing, really. Just try to make more. We've all been waiting forever for new stuff." I just nodded.

"Anyway, so I watched you guys play Magic the Gathering for a while. When you got up to go to the bathroom, I turned the ear-bud's actual function on. You probably heard the beeping." Again, I nodded. "So Ternaldo began to flip out. The device basically acts a sort of mild rabies needle. The effect, of course, is completely temporary. But the damage is not." He spread out his arms all over the apartment. I knew what he was talking about all right. "You ended up stopping his rampage. I must admit; you surprised me by having a tranquilizer gun. But…" He got up from the couch and walked over beside me to the gun that was just of the reach of my arm. "…Not anymore," he finished. He sat back down.

"So when you tried to remove the ear-bud to inspect it, I had it give you a slight shock. That shock was actually a nano-robot that came out of a hidden panel on the bed and leapt onto your finger, jumped onto your leg, and then issued you a concentrated amount of anesthetic to your legs. It was designed to only affect your legs, not to spread all over your body to knock you out. The robot has since returned to its former position. Your leg should stop feeling numb in about 4 more minutes, which is perfect timing because we are just about done here." He rose from the couch and moved it back to your position. He then walked back toward me. "I only have a few more things left to say."

"One, this has been an official warning from the Justice League and many other people whom you have callously punched with no regard for the consequences. If you continue to behave like a novice superhero, then Batman and Superman will come down and teach you the term respect."

"Two, maybe if you stopped drinking and cleaned up your act, then the creative flow of ideas for your comics would come back and you'd be able to make more of them frequently. Just an idea, but still, try to take it to heart."

"Three, when I treated your friend Leo, I did absolutely nothing to harm him in anyway. Even when I am the Crazo, the thought of harming an innocent person has never once crossed my mind. I may be evil, but at least I'm not a douche. Besides, Leo should be fine as long as no one hits him in the ribs. Speaking of Leo, you need to go talk to him about girl trouble, right? Well, I guess I'll leave to that then."

Crazo walked up to the door and left, just as the feeling returned to my legs.

Author's Note:

I know I should start adding commentaries to the older chapters, but I'm too lazy. This is the worst chapter, I know. But don't worry; it's short.


	12. Leo's Hill

Ch.12

Leo's Hill

*AERIS' POV*

I walked into my house, just as depressed as ever. All the lights were turned off, so it was dark. Oh, the irony…My parents obviously were not home. There was no humdrum of daily activity in the house. My mom wasn't busy running around the house putting laundry away, and my dad wasn't laughing his ass of at some stupid comedy sketch show. I barely even noticed their car wasn't in the driveway as I came home. Funny how my parents are almost never here when I am sad. Good thing too, because I won't have to deal with the awkwardness of my parents seeing my face soaked with tears, as if I had been hit in the face with a wet sponge. Nope, it was quiet, almost chilling. _Enjoy the silence_, I thought. I wasn't hungry, and TV sounded like it would only melt my brain further beyond the anguish that already plagues it right now. A shower I didn't feel was necessary since I hadn't been outside today except walking the short distance to and from Leo's house. I walked up the stairs just near the front door, slowly. I was so tired. I stopped at the top of the staircase. I looked down. The distance beyond this point and here may be enough to kill me if I jumped…No, what?

I shook my head. Already, bad thoughts and possibilities were filling my head. I really needed to lie down and clear my mind. So I entered my room, and leapt onto the bed. It felt quite plump and fluffy on my face. I slipped off my sneakers and threw them in synchronization near the door. I then buried myself underneath the sheets. It was nice, and I almost forgot the horrors of the day, just as sleep immediately invaded my eyes.

_It's quiet and peaceful. A gentle wind blows. Trees dance. Birds chirp. The grass shakes around. This field is wonderful. In the distance I see a lone figure. He's wearing a long black cape that flaps around in the breeze. He's alone, poor guy. I calmly walk to him, until I'm right beside him. He stares out into the water of whatever sea we're looking at, so I guess this place wasn't really a field. Or wait, what was it then?I don't really care, since this is just a dream. I look at his face. He has gray fur streaking throughout his head, except his face. His face is white. A foolish grin is fixed on his face.__ His eyes are sparkling with dazzles of green. He has a blue collar, with a blue bell on it around his neck._

"_Leo…" I whispered. He appeared not to have heard me. He kept staring out into the water, with the waves crashing along the edge of the field. So is the field actually a cliff? Again, I don't really care. The boy blinked, then turned to me and said, "Who?" I didn't know what to say. This was obviously Leo; he looked like him, sounded like him, the whole 9 yards…But at the same time, he was different…_

_The boy smiled. "I don't think I've ever see you here before. What's your name?"_

"_Aeris. Don't you remember me, Leo?" I just wasn't understanding him. He turned away from my gaze and said, "I don't have a name. Everyone just calls me the fool on the hill." I interrupted and said, "I don't think this is a hill we're standing on, though I'm not quite sure what it is." He chuckled. "Put it that way if you wish. Anyway, nobody likes me, because I usually don't speak to people the way they do to me. I'm alone, because I'm the only one who sees the world with open eyes. The rest of them…they're all fools. Not me. I could talk in a thousand different voices and they wouldn't listen. But you…" He turned to me and smiled once again, but this time, there was depth and meaning behind it. He wasn't just smiling to be polite this time. "You're different. You actually listen to the fool on the hill, Aeris. The fool who had no one, until you came along…" He shut his eyes tight and whispered, "Intelligence doesn't have to refer to the things you know, but rather how you see them…" I was lost._

_He reopened his eyes and let out a hearty laugh. "So this Leo fella. Is he your mate? You're lover?"_

_I blushed a little and said no. He laughed again. "Is he just your friend, then?"_

"_Well, he was." The boy suddenly looked serious. "Really, so he's not anymore? What happened?" I had never stopped looking at him, but my gaze had dropped to his collar. The bell around his neck had a tiny, almost invisible crack on it. I always tended to notice little things like that. It's just the way I am. "We got into a fight," I said slowly. "I hit him, he yelled at me, and I left." I could almost feel the tears start to come again, but they didn't for some reason. The boy looked back out at the ocean. He was shaking his head. "It's never too late, you know…"_

"_Huh?"_

"_I said it's never too late. By the look on your face, I can tell that you're genuinely sorry for what you did. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Life isn't all about loss. You need to talk to him, see how you feel…" Words of wisdom. I muttered that I understood. He continued. "Mankind, or catkind in our case, always gives up too soon on important things like this. Only rarely have I seen someone risk everything to be with his or her love. Even if you don't have deeper feelings for this Leo guy, if he's special to you, you have to see him again, and tell him you're sorry." Before I could stop myself, I blurted out the words, "I'm not even sure if I want to become friends with him again…" They came out as more of a frail whisper, but the boy heard me. He was frowning very quizzically._

"_Why not? Was he not a good friend?" he asked. And I answered truthfully. Probably more truthfully than it felt like to speak the words. _

"_Well, no. He's an idiot, a veritable sultan of stupidity, and he ruins everything for me." I didn't expect these words to come, but they just did. I guess because I felt like I had nothing to lose, I was talking this way. "He's bought a 'video game console' with MY money before. It was a friggin' box filled with rocks! He's also ruined my fanfics, dragged me into ridiculous situations with these douche bag guys, lost my spot in-line for the Wii, killed and raped my mother, survived my time travel abortion of his, and-"_

_I would've gone on, but I was out of breath. The boy was now smiling, but it was nothing but pity for me. "So now you're acting defensive again and lying to yourself. You always blame your feelings on someone else, don't you? Like when you tripped on Leo." he said. There was nothing in his voice but simple dignity. I stopped panting, and dropped my gaze. I was ashamed once again by my insanity._

"_Why do feel the need to twist the world around you? Is it so wrong to feel something for your best friend, even if he is an idiot? Why, I bet he just might feel the same way." I didn't answer. He was completely right, after all, and I was wrong AGAIN. _

_He suddenly reached arms out and hugged me. I was taken aback a bit. The hug only lasted a few seconds before he pushed me off. He then touched my cheek with the back of his fingers. " Talk to him, and he'll understand."_

_I stared at him, and said kindly, "Thank you. You're very wise." He just laughed and dropped his fingers. I really wanted to know more about him, so I said, "You really do look like Leo. What's your name? Seriously." The boy just shook his head and smiled again. "Maybe this Leo guy is you're fool on the hill. People tend to see things differently. You're the first person to pay attention to this fool. But I don't have a name of my own. If you don't mind, I'd like to use Leo as my name. I think it suits me." I nodded and said, "Of course you can…Leo." The boy chuckled one last time. He pulled a small object from his robe. It was a bell, just like the one he had on his neck, but instead of blue, it was orange. "Give this to your fool when you see him, to remind you of me," he said. I clasped it. It was gorgeous._

_The boy slowly started backing away toward the edge of the cliff. He fell backwards into the water. Just before he went, I swear I could almost see the blue bell on his collar shatter to bits. I couldn't stop him, because I couldn't move my legs anymore. I watched him go, and it was over, just as a shrill ringing interrupted the scenery._

*LEO'S POV*

Still on the ground, waiting. "Dear fucking lord, how long can it possibly take Pantsman to haul his ass over to my house? It's not like he lives several miles away," I angrily said to myself. It had been close to an hour since I had called Pantsman, and I was starting to get a little impatient. Being on the floor of my room doing nothing really was not the most eventful thing I wanted to do the second day of Christmas Break. Hell, getting hit by a damn car wasn't part of the plan either. Getting into a fight with my best friend and having her punch me in the sore ribs wasn't either. Ugh, oh Jesus, I'm losing my damn mind. But seriously, where was Scott?

I had tried getting up a little bit after calling Scott, but it just didn't happen. I had managed to raise my back slightly, until a wave of pain thundered down on me and I settled back to the ground. It was hard, and I knew I'd be stuck like this until someone came to help me, whether it be Scott or my parents. I still couldn't stop replaying the events of the day in my mind, over and over again. I felt so damn guilty, and for virtually nothing. There was nothing to be upset about (except for the pain in my ribs), but here I could feel the tears once again creeping up on me. I really hope Aeris is okay right now…

Well, speak of the devil. I hear a small rustling downstairs, then a door opens. "Hello, who's down there?" I called. "It's me, Pantsman. Where are you?"

"I'm upstairs." I heard several footsteps before he finally came into view. Unlike his usual nice attire, his pants were really messy and there was a slight limp to his walk. I made a mental note to ask him if anything was wrong later.

"Dear Lord, what the hell happened to you?"

"Like I said on the phone, Aeris and I got into a fight."

"So what are you doing on the ground?"

"Aeris punched me in the ribs before she left. The pain is so intense I can't get up, though God knows I've tried. I've been stuck like this for over an hour. Do you mind helping me up?"

"Sweet Jesus! You gotta tell me everything." With that, he crouched down beside me. Instead of helping me up, he lifted my T-shirt and ran his hand on my ribs, applying just a bit of pressure to them. "OW! What are you doing?" I shouted at him.

"Nothing. I barely even rested my fingers on your ribs. I'm just seeing if they're broken."

"So why did you lift my shirt?"

"I needed to see exactly where the bruising and swelling was. I gotta say, it doesn't look good. It's like someone pelted you with a baseball bat made of grape jelly." He then muttered something that sounded like 'homophobe', but I wasn't sure enough to get mad.

I shook my head. "Anyway, my ribs aren't broken, just damn close."

"Even so, you still might need to go to the hospital again. You said you tried to get back up? How far did you make it before you collapsed from the pain?" I looked away, slightly embarrassed. "I had my back like an inch off of the ground before I stopped." Pantsman looked pretty worried. "Ooh, that's not good. Well, we have to get you back on your feet." Before I could even say anything or react, Pantsman clasped both of my hands, stood up, and pulled me up toward him. Not the safest way to me back on my feet, but it worked. I let out a fierce shriek of pain as I flew toward him. He caught me in his arms, and then helped me gain my balance. I had been on the floor so long that my legs actually felt numb when I tried to stand on them. If it weren't for Pantsman, I would have fallen straight back down. When I was on my feet, I clutched my ribs. They responded with clear animosity from my new position. I slowly ambled my way to my nearby bed and sat down. I shut my eyes from the pain. It was friggin' hell.

Pantsman walked and sat next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder as my breathing drew into short panting bursts. I felt like I was gonna die. Now I know how Old Snake feels. After several agonizing moments, my breath drew normally again. I felt better, but not by much. "So, are you ready to tell me what happened?" Pantsman asked. I looked at him. His expression was completely neutral. I felt his hand leave my shoulder. You can always read him like a book, even though a pair of slacks covers most of his face. It's almost comical when you think about. Well, I guess now's not a good time to bring that up since his face was neutral right then, but I digress. I looked away from him and said, "That depends. Which side are you on?" Pantsman left out tiny chuckle. He would've straight out laughed if the situation wasn't so awful. Or at least I thought it was awful. I don't know if you guys from beyond do too.

"Yours, I guess. As long as you didn't hit Aeris back." I chuckled this time. "Yeah, of course I didn't. How do you think I could? She put me out of commission the second she hit me." Pantsman shrugged and said, "I've known you to do amazing things before, even in the most horrific of situations…"

"Yeah, well, not this time."

So I recited the whole damn thing to him, not leaving out a single detail. It wasn't hard, despite the knotted up feeling in my guts as I poured my soul out into my words. I didn't even come close to crying. I guess my body felt that there was no need, not until it was time to face her again. By the time I had finished, Pantsman face had never changed from its neutral state. He seemed to be lost in heavy thought. We didn't say anything for a few minutes, and then he spoke up. "So you didn't trip her?" I shook my head. "No, I swear to God that I didn't. She claimed that I did, but I didn't." Pantsman moved his mouth slightly, but I couldn't hear him say anything.

"And you did nothing at all to provoke her into breaking your controller?" He looked off to it. It was still in its same place, right on the ground by the TV. It was pretty much broken. I didn't care though. Not anymore. I shook my head again and said no.

Pantsman said slowly, "Well, maybe you shouldn't have called her out on her always abusing you. Didn't you say you wanted her to be like that last night?"

"Well, yeah, but…Hey, wait. Didn't you leave before I talked to Aeris?" Pantsman donned an expression of slight panic as he said, "Well, yeah, but I didn't really leave…" I would've stood up if I had been able to, but I didn't.

"So you were fucking spying on us?"

"Well…yes?" I punched him in the stomach. "Ow! What's your problem?" he asked, as is if spying on me was the most natural thing in the world for someone to do. Like I said, he was a piece of work. Spying on me, dear lord. "My problem is you don't know a fucking thing about privacy!" He chuckled. "Oh yeah, and you telling me that you love your life-long best friend isn't private either." I opened my mouth to say more, but I bit down on my tongue out of embarrassment. "I never said I loved her. I just like her, that's all," I said unconvincingly. Pantsman patted my shoulder again, and there was more silence.

"From what you've told me, it seems that this can all be sorted out. Whether you like her or not, I think you know whatcha gotta do," he said. I shook my head. "What's there to say to her? Like honestly, can I say anything to appease both of us? I'm not sure she even wants to talk…"

Pantsman got out his phone and dialed a number. You didn't have to graduate from Brain Age academy to know whom he was calling. "I'm going to put it on speaker phone. Don't let her know that you're listening," he said firmly. I didn't argue.

The phone rang for what seemed like a million hours before a voice came into earshot. "Hello?" A calm, tired voice answered.

"Hi, Aeris. It's Pantsman." I could hear an obnoxious groan from the other end of the line. It's not like she even attempted to mask it. Pantsman didn't seem to mind and he kept on talking.

"You sound tired; were you sleeping just now?" he asked calmly. No reply for a few unbearable moments, and then, "Um, yeah…what exactly are you calling me up for, Scott?" She was never the type to beat around the bush. I could make a joke out of how dirty that sounds, but now kinda wasn't the fucking time, you know.

"I'm over at Leo's house right now, and he just told me what happened." I could hear a shrill gasp on the other end of the line. "What the hell is wrong with him…" Aeris was talking to herself, because I could only just barely make out the words.

"Look, you two need to talk and sort this out. We're coming straight to your house right now." More silence.

A lot of silence.

An eternity of silence.

My brain turning to mush…

"Okay…"

Author's Note:

Nothing much to say. I'm pretty proud of this chapter, and it only gets better from here. Do you guys like the Beatles reference?


	13. Love Was and Becomes

Ch.13

Love Was and Becomes

AERIS' POV

It didn't take long for the dynamic duo to arrive. When the knock came, I was still sleepily resting in bed. My phone had since been put back into my pocket. I think it's odd that a phone ring woke me up today, and yet yesterday it did not. I friggin' hate plot holes like that. Anyway, I was just staring into the endless arrays of design in the ceiling. The little bumps, cracks, and shards of it all went together as fluently as a ballet. They would make up little faces, or monsters that would do well in a Final Fantasy game, or other weird designs. The strange thing is though that if you stare into one design for a long enough time, it seems to move and continually change every passing second. I can't describe it, but it's just really nice to watch. So when a noise broke my personal heaven, I swung my legs off the bed to go to the door. Shrill beatings of my heart echoed through the world as I opened the front door.

Leo and Scott were side by side. Scott was kind of disjointed looking, as if he had been through a lot in the past few hours just like us. He wore a neutral expression. He had all of his weight on one leg, while the other shook ominously to and fro. But he wasn't important. I couldn't help but stare at Leo. How should I feel looking at him? Remorse? No, I would save that until he actually said something. Time seemed to stop, allowing me to take him entirely in. He looked dead, just like he had last night. Panting breaths issued from him like a steam engine. His frown seemed to droop all the way to the ground. Wet marks streaked his face. His hands were clutching his ribs valiantly, trying to ward off the waves of pain that probably crashed over them. Winter wear was absent on him, leaving him to fend for himself in a T-Shirt and jeans; I guess the chill of the still air didn't affect him right then. How could it? When you're thinking a lot, sometimes your body just doesn't register outside feelings. By Leo's expression, it seemed he was in turmoil in his own mind, the polar opposite of his usual personality.

I learned that your mind can play those kinds of tricks on you the hard way the day my house burned down when I was 7-years-old. I remember having escaped through the burning building in my dad's arms, then being forced onto the hard snowy ground from him tripping out of the door. My nice white nightgown matched the ice. I got up and looked at the building. My mother was screaming somewhere far away, my dad was passed out, and I could hear distant sirens and alarm bells. But none of that mattered, not at the time. My 5 senses still functioned, but they carried out their unknown designated purposes without my assistance. I couldn't feel falling ash or chilly snow then. I didn't know what was happening, and I didn't know that I wasn't alone in front of the smoke. All I could register was the sight of the dying house. When rough hands grabbed me and tough voices came and told me my parents and I would be fine, I was deaf. When an ambulance door blocked the fire, I was blind. Only after I woke up the next day did everything return to me. That incident is actually why I moved into Toronto, and it's how I was able meet Leo, when I transferred to his school. Tragedy meets hilarity.

…Well, I'm rambling, aren't I? But that's the interesting thing; when you've been through so much in such a short period of time, sometimes your mind just blanks out completely, and stray thoughts bumble through your head like honey bees.

I stepped back a bit and slowly motioned them to walk in. Scott went almost immediately, but Leo stayed back, unsure. He was fearful. My lower lip started to quiver, but I stopped it before anything happened. "Please," I begged. "Come on in…" He waited for but one more second, then his legs moved. He staggered into my house. Just before he passed me, he looked at me. He was stoic. His eyes were green, however, unlike last night when they were gray. Maybe I had been hallucinating? The moment passed, as he went into the living room he had entered so many times before. He settled onto one of the two couches, right beside Scott. I entered the room and sat on the other one, perpendicular to where they were.

There was silence again. I couldn't meet his eyes, and Scott was just in the way. He was just a blockade of matter, nothing more. He shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he should break the silence. Leo rested his head on his right arm, the one that faced away from me. The shadow of his head covered his eyes. He looked just like Snake did the day I first met Leo. Funny how life's highest point always affects it's lowest point in the most horrible ways. It's laughable, but now's just not the fucking time.

Scott, rather unsurprisingly, broke the silence. "Well, I think we all know why we're here." Who the hell did he think he was? _Maury_? Dear Jesus…

He continued. "Why don't you start, Leo?" Leo scoffed and raised his head from his hand. There was a masochistic grin slashed on his face where his mouth should've been. "What's there to say? I think Aeris is pretty proud of herself." Those words went into my heart like a knife-blade. I almost cried out in defense, but I knew it wouldn't help. I just looked down at my hands. My right hand- the one I used on Leo- was shaking very violently, and I couldn't get it to sit still for the love of fuck.

Scott shook his head and said quietly, "Look at her. Do you honestly think she feels that way?" I looked up. I had no idea why they were referring to me in 3rd-person, since I sat almost right next to them, but whatever. Leo was looking straight through me, as if I were made of glass. Scott smiled weakly at me. I of course knew that he was trying, and I applaud him for it, but even so. Leo took in a small breath and calmly replied, "If she's sorry, I want to hear it from her."

This was my cue. "Oh, Leo…Of course I'm sorry, and I never meant to hurt you…" A lone tear trickled down my left cheek. Leo's face never changed. There wasn't an ounce of sympathy or understanding in his cold eyes.

"I want to know just what the fucking hell happened here today, Aeris. You tripped on me, you broke my brand new controller, you flipped out on me, and you punched me in my practically broken ribs. Why? Why would you go and do something like that your best friend? Your ONLY friend." Tears were flooding down on his face.

He added an unceremonious amount of emphasis on the word 'only'. Once again, his words destroyed me, and for one bleak moment, I felt that I could just fall through the floor into Hell and be happier than I was right then. Anything would be better than facing the wrath of Leo. But of course I knew that I had to face him now, or lose him forever.

I cleared my throat and said, "All that happened was that I was getting mad at _Goldeneye_ and I ended up taking it out on you. I'm sorry, Leo." It didn't feel good lying through my teeth like this, but what else was I supposed to do? It seemed Leo didn't even believe me because he said next, "That's bullshit and you know it. It seems to me that after you tripped on me and I pushed you off, that caused a surge of emotion on your part, thus causing a lack of performance on _Goldeneye_. Why was that trip such a big deal? I had already asked you to not to think much of it."

Just like he was yesterday, Leo was incredibly observant. I guess his idiot brain is finally growing. Now, his words left me in a little corner. I couldn't just blatantly tell him that I liked him. Not really because Scott was in front of us, but also because I'm kind of scared to how Leo would react. I've never felt that two friends should get together in a romantic couple, because if it doesn't work out, then it's nearly impossible to capture the friendship once more. That's why I never kept in touch with people I was with from out of town.

So that just left me to come with a response. I couldn't think of one, so I lamely replied with my head down, "Um…It was just a tense moment between us. We both know it didn't mean anything, but… For some reason, I just…" I looked back up at Leo. His eyes still had that same aura about them, but he slowly nodded. There seemed to be a faint glimmer in his eye. He had stopped crying.

"So why did you later ask me why I tripped you?" This was another question I was dreading, but once again, I said, "Again, that was just frustration from the game and tension from the previous moment…I was just caught up in the moment, as all…"

Thank fucking God he never pressed me on why that moment in question caused me to be tense, because I don't think I could've ever gotten around it. The tension thing seemed to also cover why I had broken the controller, or at least in his eyes, so the next question went straight to the punch in the ribs.

"What did I do or say that deserved a punch in the ribs?" This was a ridiculous question, so I chuckled and smiled. Leo did not take too kindly to this. "What the hell? Is that funny to you that I was on the floor in my room for upwards of an hour before Scott finally came to my rescue?"

My smile disappeared and I said, "No, but it's funny that you would forget what you did to me…"

"What did I do?"

My eyes narrowed. "You called me a crazy bitch."

This seemed to strike a soft spot in Leo's heart. He looked away disgusted with himself and said, "Can you blame me? You broke my new controller and then threatened to hit me over it." Okay, I guess we were not over the controller thing.

"That still didn't give you the right." The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Leo spun around and said furiously, "Well, when was I supposed to say something? Maybe I shouldn't have called you a bitch, fine. But that's no excuse for you to trounce all over my room breaking my shit and not have me get mad!"

He had a good point, but my face was beginning to get hot with anger. Through gritted teeth, I said deadly quietly, "Okay, fine. I shouldn't have broken your controller and gotten mad at you. I'm sorry."

"That didn't sound like a proper apology to me."

"LEO!"

"No, Aeris. If you're not going to take this seriously, then I can just leave right now and you'll never see me again." There was another glimmer in his eye as he said this. A few more tears escaped his imprisoning eyes. I had no idea what he meant by 'you'll never see me again', but I didn't like the sound of it. I sighed in defeat.

"Alright. Honestly, Leo. I'm very sorry that I broke your controller." I gave him a tiny smile.

His gaze softened up just a bit. Things looked like they would be okay, but then I remembered the punch. We had sort of glanced over that.

"About the punch…" I said slowly. Leo crossed his arms and sat back, about to enjoy the show. Oh, I would give him a damn show, alright.

"I know I shouldn't have hit you in the ribs, but are you really surprised that I hit you at all?" Leo gave me a baffled look. I would've laughed, but that just would've made things worse. What's weird though is how casually I was talking about my bad nature.

"Let's face it; I've always been the kind of person I am now. I think you've had enough time to learn at least that much about me. I've never really reacted too well to other peoples' insolence, and you calling me a bitch just kind of pushed me over the edge. Besides…" I gave a devilish grin. "Didn't you say last night that you wanted me to be this way?" Had he never said that, I would've never admitted to my usual poor behavior.

Leo blushed and looked away again. I knew I had hit another soft spot. He was silent for a long time. I could see Scott trying not to laugh. I guess Leo had told him about last night too. I swear to God, he has no sense of privacy.

Leo sighed extremely deeply, and then he looked back up at me. He wore a tiny smile. "You know what? You're absolutely right Aeris. I did tell you to be yourself always, even in severe circumstances. I told you that it hurt me to see you out of the norm. But…" His smile flashed off, like a light bulb. "…That's absolutely no reason to hurt me when I'm already down. Even the regular you wouldn't do that, no matter how angry you get. I kind of feel like you're still not telling me something. Are you sure that there's not something else bothering you?

It was the first sigh of concern or affection he had shown me since we confronted each other about what happened today. I knew that Leo was beginning to suspect something. I had to act quickly but efficiently to get this to pass.

I smiled back and said, "No. Nothing else is wrong." The smiled turned off. "Once again, I am very sorry about what happened today. Can we please forget it ever happened?"

Leo stared at me for a long time. Scott was grinning, knowing that things were turning out okay without a fistfight. I knew in my heart what Leo would say. I predicted that he would smile and everything would be okay. Well, I was only partially correct.

"So you're sorry and you want this friendship to last?" he said slowly. I nodded, wondering where he was going with this. He stood up, albeit very slowly and carefully. Scott actually reached over to help him up, but Leo just waved his hands away. When he was on his feet, he held out his right hand.

"If this friendship really does have meaning to you, then I need proof. Give me the Triforce pendant." His voice was sweetly calm, and his face was blank with distill emotion.

My jaw dropped. What Leo was suggesting was outright blasphemy. The pendant was a symbol of our undying friendship, and here he was demanding I sacrifice it. As you would expect, I shook my head and snapped, "No!"

Leo just laughed at me. It was a genuine laugh. "You're so hypocritical, Aeris. When my bell covered in my own blood lay busted on that filthy street, how do you think I felt? And when I told you about it last night, how do you think I felt when you said that you never would've given it to me if it never caused me pain?" He then mirrored my words from last night, and it killed me to hear them. "'Even if that bell had some sort of special friendship connection between the two of us, isn't our actual friendship worth a little more?'"

Leo then said, "Our friendship IS worth more than a bell or a pendant, Aeris. If you can give me the pendant, then I will know that you meant that." He continued to stand there with his hand out, waiting for an answer.

I was dumbstruck. While he did raise an excellent point, I still couldn't believe he was playing that card right now. It was the most conniving, bastardized thing I think Leo could've possibly done right then and there. But to be honest, is me using his behavior last night as a weapon any better? I guess not.

I think it was at this point that I realized that Leo and I could simply never get together in a romantic sense. There have been countless times where we did not understand each other (Leo not understanding me especially), and there were even more times when I would lash out my anger just a little too fiercely on poor Leo, just like when I punched him in the ribs. I figured that it would only get worse if we became a couple. But the one nail that sealed the fucking coffin is the fact that Leo made me give up my most prized possession just to prove something to him. Don't get me wrong; I understand his reasoning for asking me to give it to him. But the fact remains that Leo lost his bell by accident, and I told him not to worry about it to make me feel better. The difference between then and now is that my release of the precious item was voluntary, and Leo had the gall to ask me to give it up for him. It made me fell unfairly victimized, and I hated Leo for it.

In many ways, I learned the most about his secret behavior that day. The amount of emotions and evil nature he had bottled up was astounding. Deep in my heart, though, I knew I had to accept him just like he accepted me those many years ago, as repayment. So I sighed, slowly stood up, and walked over to him.

**LEO'S POV**

I actually never in a million years expected Aeris to give me the pendant. I knew how precious it was to her, and I felt almost guilty over asking her for it. But I knew what I was doing was ultimately right. I felt so betrayed when she told me that the bell meant nothing, and this was basically like my revenge. It was also proof of her devotion (if only in a friendly manner) to me. When she approached me, I almost thought she was going to hit me upside the head. But she didn't. She quickly unclasped the pendant and set into my open palm. She had a sad look in her eyes as she did this, but at the time, I didn't care.

When that bit of metal (made warm by her soft fur it was resting on) was set into my hand, I knew that Aeris and I were perfect for each other. If she could do this for me, then there was nothing we couldn't accomplish together. I made it my secret goal to make her my love before the end of Christmas Break.

So I put the pendant into me pants pocket and smiled. I smiled deeper and more kindly than I think I ever have before. Aeris face didn't change, until I unexpectedly reached out my arms and hugged her lovingly. She didn't hug me back until I whispered in her ear, "Thank you, Aeris…" She giggled almost silently, and then she hugged me back. Her body felt pleasantly warm against mine. I reached one hand over and began to stroke her soft hair. It was just as warm as the rest of her. We held each other with what I wish was forever, but she eventually began to squirm slightly, and so I released her. Her face was almost blushing, and mine probably was too. She was smiling however, and I smiled back. The fight was over, and the apology was accepted.

I had almost forgotten Pantsman was here before I heard him rise. I looked over at him. He was also smiling. "So you guys are cool now?" he asked. I turned back to Aeris and nodded. She nodded back. Pantsman nodded, but then his smile disappeared.

"Okay, good. But now we kind of have a serious situation on our hands, and I need your guys' help."

Author's Note:

I put up three chapters today. Yeah, I finally caught up. I had been posting them on Deviantart previously, but had waited to post them here until I finished Chapter 13. I can't really say a good reason why, but I guess mostly because this chapter was a good place to stop. New chapters are posted here as soon as they're finished, as well as on Deviantart.


	14. Juxtaposition

Ch.14

Juxtaposition

**LEO'S POV**

It seems that Pantsman really knows how to kill a moment. Aeris and I just looked at him in puzzlement. His face didn't react; it remained to be maintaining a steady amount of grim determination and slight urgency. Something was up, and something big.

Looking at him, I remembered his strange getup. Dirty pants (on both his head and legs), flimsy and jittery legs…I guess I hadn't taken the time to ask him about it, since Aeris and I were already involved in some sort of situation at the time. Well, now was the time to find out what in the hell was going on.

"Um, what do you mean 'we have a situation'?" Aeris asked before I could. Pantsman's expression refused to change. Instead, he calmly explained the whole thing, right then and there, from his random punching of people to his meeting with the doctor that had treated me when that car hit me. I actually wish all three of us had exchanged witty dialogue before Pantsman explained the situation to us, like they do in James Bond movies, but in real life, that's almost never the case. Trust me, Aeris and I aren't patient enough to handle things like that. Still, I'm always eager to see clichés from the movies happen in real life. Makes pop-culture feel more involved, rather than alienating simple-minded viewers to events that will never happen in real life, like in _Twilight_. I'd get more into that, but we'll be here forever…

So by the time he had finished, all of us had sat back down again. I was sitting right next to Aeris, while Pantsman sat at on the other couch. We were close to each other. I could almost hear Aeris breath. I was tempted to reach out and clutch her hand, rubbing her soft pink velvety fingers over mine. But I knew better. We may have gone through a world-shattering event, but we were still only friends. I had to clasp my hands together in an attempt to get them to stop shaking, out of anticipation and desire. Someday…

Aeris was wide-eyed by Pantsman's story, yet reasonably bored. I was hooked over the edge (figuratively, since my ribs wouldn't be able to take it), hanging onto every single solitary word. I honestly had never imagined that this kind of crazy shit could happen to someone as normal as Pantsman. Okay, maybe normal isn't the right word. After all, he wears pants on his head and has an almost obsessive longing for vodka. But I digress.

So anyway, Pantsman finished with his story. Despite all the weird technological babble, his story wasn't hard to comprehend. The first moment of silence, I say, "Wow, that sounds freaking cool!" Pantsman just scoffed and muttered something about it really wasn't.

"Before I arrived at Leo's house, I had to send Ternaldo to the hospital. Not Shady Oaks, where Leo was sent, but one closer to where I live, called Umbrella Care. I also called the police, but didn't tell them what exactly happened. I simply told them that Ternaldo had been drunk and gone on a rampage."

Aeris shook her head at that. "But he didn't have any beer…"

Pantsman shrugged and said, "The anesthetic in my gun had special properties. It's a new type that registers in the body as alcohol.

I frowned and said, "Microscopic robots? Tranquilizer beer? What the hell kind of world are we living in?" Aeris laughed a little. I smiled at her, but only mildly, to show that I was serious. She didn't look convinced.

Pantsman shrugged again and said, "Video game characters are some of the most advanced and intelligent people who ever lived. Since most of them live here in our little city and suburbs, we live in the most advanced area in the United States. Most of the people who work on advanced military technology (i.e. my gun) are extremely private people, who hide their research from abuse by the dominant superpowers of the world, especially America."

My mouth dropped. I was speechless. Aeris slowly said, "How exactly do you know all this?"

It was Pantsman's turn to smile. "I know people around here. You guys make think I'm just a typical loser idiot-" Aeris nodded at those words while I continued to gape. "-But I have made quite a reputation of myself here. You guys probably don't know much about it, since you mostly hang out in the suburbs, but trust me when I say that I'm a household name. People like me; they tend to get acquainted with me fast. Leo can certainly vouch for that."

He winked at me. Oh, that day we met; I remember it so well. That's a story for another time, however, since it's quite long.

He continued. "Normally, I try to maintain that respect. I just happen to let the mantle slip that one day, when I went around punching people in the face. Some of those people now obviously no longer respect me. They want me dead." He stood up and walked over to me. He put his hand on my shoulder in a friendly way, not a gay way. I expected him to say something about how he needed our help to save his ass, but instead, he said, "We need to go check on Ternaldo. Do you guys mind coming with me?"

Well, that was a drastic change in conversation. Aeris and I nodded and just a minute later, we were out of Aeris' house, walking through the deep freeze.

"What time is it?" I asked as we left. Pantsman pulled down his left sleeve and said, "3:27." Fuck, it had only been that long ago when Aeris first punched me? It felt like an eternity ago. Ha, best not to dwell on stuff like that, I suppose.

It was snowing once again. There were dark clouds in the sky, blocking out the sun, making it even colder. It seemed that the clouds weren't as dense before, as there seemed to be more light in the air. The streetlights were no longer on to wave the darkness away. I was shivering, but not very much. Pantsman ambled ahead of Aeris and me. He seemed very lost in thought, even though his back was turned. Aeris had grabbed her supply of winter wear on our way out of the house. Same pink hoodie. But instead of the Santa hat, she wore red earmuffs. I looked at her with envy, wishing I had my blue ones to match hers. Luckily, she was staring down at her feet as we walked also with a thoughtful expression, so she couldn't see me staring hungrily at her. That just left me to think about something. Uh…

Call of Duty: Black Ops? Nah. Lou Reed? Now wasn't the time. Aeris? I could very well lose control if I start thinking of her. Hell, just looking at her makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, if you know what I mean.

She's so beautiful, and she doesn't even know it. How could she? I don't think she's ever been complimented on her looks. No popular girl at school ever really talked to her. Not even Lily (the girl who asked me if there was a thing between Aeris and me). Well, she was complimented once. One Halloween. When many of us were dressed up as Final Fantasy 11 characters. Ternaldo was the one that said it. I think he said, 'Ooh, you iz hott!' Or something like that. You know, that typical horrible communication thing most MMORPGs suffer through because stupid people don't feel like typing a few extra keys to make themselves sound human. Aeris then resorted to beat him up in a very comical fashion. All I can say is at least it wasn't me.

I still had the Triforce Pendant in my pocket. There's no doubt in my mind that I will give back to her, but only when we get together. I still had several days of no school goodness to figure out what to do to make Aeris fall in love with me. But what? Just kiss her and hope for the best? I've seen enough movies to know that that might work, but then again, cultural situations in movies are bullshit 95% of the time.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice when we stopped in front of my house.

**AERIS' POV**

Scott stopped walking right in front of Leo's house. I managed to act fast enough to stop, but Leo didn't. He practically ran into Scott. What a lovable oaf.

"Woah, watch where you are going, buddy," Scott said. Leo had backed away a bit, a look of idiotic surprise on his face. "Sorry," he mumbled. "So why did we stop in front of my house?"

"It's kind of a long walk to the hospital. You should probably get your winter wear."

"I think I'll be fine."

"Leo, we're already here. Just get your damn jacket."

Leo gave me a reluctant look. I don't know why. I rolled my eyes at him, and he started trudging to his house. His parents' car wasn't in the driveway, so I knew that his parents weren't home. A good thing too, because they would probably want to come to the hospital with us. I'm sure Scott didn't want them to know about the serious situation he was in as well. Funny how his parents like every loser he introduces them to.

As soon as Leo disappeared inside his house, Scott wasted no time in asking me something.

"Leo, huh?" He said with mild sarcasm.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Let's cut to the chase. Was it hard to give back the Triforce Pendant?"

That was certainly not a question I was expecting. I turned to him and said honestly, "Yes. Yes, it was. Why exactly do you care?"

"I'm just wondering. So are you mad that he took it away?"

I blushed slightly. Instead of getting mad, like I thought I would, I replied in a quiet whisper, "Is it that obvious? You don't think Leo…?"

Scott laughed softly. "Nah, I'm sure he hasn't noticed that you're still upset about that. You know that he didn't take the pendant away out of spite, right? I actually think he had a good point. A pendant for a bell, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Sometimes I think he just asks stupid, even though he's really not."

I considered his words for a moment. Did Leo just go through life pretending to be a mindless twat, ready to face the consequences at any given time? Somehow, I think maybe he did. But then again, that also seemed unlikely. Unless you were truly stupid, you wouldn't buy a monkey paw from Johnny Evilguy and then wish for _Duke Nukem Forever _and a giant hot dog. Seriously, who would do that? I can think of a million things to use three wishes on that are better. What those things are, I'll leave to your sick fanboy and fangirl fantasies…

I shook my head. "Good point or not, I had to give my pendant up to Leo of my own will, _unfairly_, I might add. It's not my fault he lost his bell by some drunk fuckhead. It's…" I pointed accusingly to him. "It's all your fault!"

Scott just looked at me. "I'm not the one who pushed Leo in front of that car. He pushed me out of the way to save me. He's a freaking hero. How could you say it was my fault?"

I sighed out of frustration. Scott was a friggin' nightmare when you made a conversation with him sometimes. "Fine, I take it back. Shit, we shouldn't be fighting…"

Scott scoffed. "Wow, Aeris. That was probably the most adult thing I've ever seen you do. Why don't you act like that around Leo?"

Here's where I draw the line. I'm not the kind of person that takes criticisms well, especially from someone I barely know. "Who the hell do you think you are? My conscience? My guardian angel? What?"

Scott shrugged. "I'm just a guy who's looking out for my friend Leo, that's all. I'm a closer friend to him than you give me credit for." There was a faint spark in his eyes. He smiled. "Besides, he trusted me with a very important secret."

Curiosity overtook me. Ugh, that's probably the worst thing about me. When something grabs my attention, everything else just sort of blinks out. I asked quietly, "Really? What's his secret, and why would he trust it with you instead of me?"

Scott took a small step back. "Oh, you'll find out, one way or the other. I can't tell you what it is, but I will give you a major hint, which will also explain why he didn't tell you."

He motioned for me to come closer. Once I did, he took off my earmuffs and cupped his hands over one of my exposed ears. His hands kind of tickled. He looked back at the house to make sure Leo wasn't watching from the window or something, then he whispered chillingly quietly, "It's all about YOU."

**PANTSMAN'S POV**

Just so you guys know, I didn't actually tell her. I simply said that one sentence only. I think I did a good job confusing her a bit. She'll either be totally shocked or completely submitted when Leo makes his move. When he will, I have no idea. He's such a pussy sometimes. It doesn't help with the fact that Leo had to fall in love with a shrew like Aeris anyway. You know, _Taming of the Shrew_ by Shakespeare? Oh, whatever.

**LEO'S POV**

"Oh, goddam it!" I shouted. I couldn't find my jacket anywhere. I was busy scrambling all through out my room looking for it. Not in the closet, not around my bed…For the love of God, come on…

Pantsman and Aeris must've been getting pissed off right about now. They were always the impatient type, especially Aeris. But then again, it was Pantsman's fault. I didn't even want to get my damn clothes, but he made me.

I could rant and rave about it all day, but we will get nowhere. After much trial and error, I found my jacket and my earmuffs in the kitchen hastily tossed about. I must have been too tired to care last night to bother putting my stuff up properly. So why didn't my mother do it for me then?

I walked out of the house, slightly embarrassed by how long I was gone. An odd sight awaited me.

Aeris was blushing, almost maddeningly. Isn't Valentine's Day about two months away? She looked toward the ground, lightly kicking at bits of dirt and rocks. Her hands were in her coat pockets, but I could plainly see her arms shaking slightly. Tension was struggling in the air, trying to catch its breath.

Pantsman was much more reserved. He looked just the same as ever, with his dirty pants and slight leg wobbling. He was smirking, kind of triumphantly.

"Um, what's wrong, guys? Did I miss something?" I asked. Aeris scooted around a bit but didn't say anything.

Pantsman said, "Nope. Nothing's wrong. Well, now that you have your shit, let's go!" He gave me a sly wink. I raised an eyebrow at him, just as he turned and began walking away. Aeris and I reluctantly began walking as well.

I let Pantsman walk a bit of a distance away, just so I could have a word with the beautiful pink cat alone. She was still blushing like crazy.

"Is something wrong, Aeris?" I asked.

She didn't reply. Hell, she didn't even look at me. I put my arm around, gently but firmly. She didn't react to this either. Finally, I put one finger underneath her chin and lifted her head, so I could look into her eyes. Green penetrated blue.

…Was now the perfect moment?

"Oh, hi guys! Do any of ya want to battle with mez? You should hear the funny stuff Krug has been saying!" Good old Ternaldo. The trauma of the day seemed to not have affected him at all. He was sitting in the hospital bed, waving several boxes of Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and Tetra Master cards in his hands. A big, toothy grin was all over his face. There were a couple of bandages around his arms. There was also a bit of bandaging on his forehead. His dirty lion-mane hair looked quite a bit frazzled, as if he had been electrocuted earlier. Oh wait, he was. He kicked about very sporadically, meaning he must not have been injured very badly. All the better for everyone, I say.

I was a bit surprised to see Krug, who was sitting in a chair next to him, chuckling at his friend's good mood. Pantsman never specified if he had told anyone else about what happened, but I guess he did. Krug held a few cards in his hands of whatever game they had been playing. He said in his typical goofy and slightly raspy voice, "Ha! Ternaldo's craziness make Krug laugh!" What a couple of jokesters these guys were.

We had just walked in. I kind of wish I had some flowers. Pantsman went directly over to Ternaldo to pat his shoulder and listen to his crazy rants on the fun he was having with Krug and all the times his nurse had run screaming out of the room. Krug also began to talk with them. Pantsman had formed an alliance, if only temporary, with Krug about a few weeks ago. I don't really know the details, except that Krug had never been serious about his convoluted attempts at taking over the world, or making Pantsman's life hell. He just wanted friends. Pantsman seemed to be the best candidate at the time, so there you go. Through him, I also became friends with Krug. When you get to know him, he's actually not such a bad guy. He's just kind of insane, is all. Same thing goes for just about everyone in our little group of friends. Even Aeris and me.

Speaking of Aeris, she and I stayed in the back, near the door. We of course said our how-do-you-dos to Ternaldo. I had managed to cure her of her blush. I had debated whether or not to close the distance between us, or say something stupid to get her mind situated back to her normal nature. I chose the latter.

"That's the biggest barrel I've ever SEEN! Is it pump-action?" I had asked her, Oh God, you should have seen the look on her face. We all remember when I first said that, to the weird merchant from Resident Evil 4. Aeris had seen us, but misinterpreted it into thinking I was looking at the merchant's exposed junk, even when I really wasn't. She then hastily ran away. Everyone still remembers that as one of my greatest antics, and who could blame them? To my friends, I was a comedy messiah, so to speak. Who doesn't like being in that position?

Aeris started laughing as we continued to walk. Actually, she started shrieking with laughter. So much so in fact that I had to, unwillingly, release my grip on her. Pantsman actually had to stop and look at us. I rolled my hand at him, to tell him to keep walking. He nodded with a smirk and followed my non-verbal instructions. After Aeris had her fill of laughter, she looked at me with a genuine smile and said, "I needed that. Thanks."

"Ah, the idiocy of your best friend…" I said dreamily. "How would you live without me?"

She playfully punched my arm. Just like old times. For a moment, the pain in my ribs had never existed, and we were back to where we started yesterday, when we first left school, before the insanity of that doctor. That happier time felt like a year ago. But I'm not one to dwell on the negative. Who cares about a little pain in the ribs and you're friend getting into serious trouble with superheroes and still-in-the-closet villains? Actually, it was kind of exciting…

So here we are, at the hospital. All three of our bizarre friends continued to converse while Aeris and I just sort of stood around. Finally, their friendly words ceased. Pantsman began to tell Ternaldo about the events that occurred. What must it have been like for Ternaldo to just wake up in a hospital all alone, with no idea how he got there? Then I remembered Krug. Nevermind.

So after he finished, Pantsman motioned for us to come over to him. Ternaldo was still smiling, but he was looking kind of pale. Even Krug seemed to be a slightly lighter shade of red than usual. We scurried like rats who have picked up a scent for cheese.

"Okay, so we all know about my little predicament," he announced. Various mumbles of agreement filtered the room. "Before I actually go into detail about what we need to do, I just need to say something to our feline friends." The three of them looked over at us. Aeris looked uncertain, while I relaxed my face to a neutral expression.

"While we all our great friends here…Aeris, don't roll your eyes in denial. You know full well that you didn't have to come here." I looked toward her. She once again wore a blush, but she was scowling out of anger to match it.

Krug, the G-tard, cut in. "Pink girl is selfish. She mean to Ternaldo, Krug, and Panty-head man." Ternaldo grunted in agreement.

Aeris looked like she was about to explode. Pantsman gave Krug and Ternaldo chiding glances and said consolably, "Don't mind them Aeris. They're just a little over the edge right now."

Aeris stopped fuming, but she crossed her arms and wore an ugly look. I knew better than to say anything.

"Anyway," Pantsman continued, "with all due respect, Leo and Aeris…" He bit his lower lip. "I think you guys might want to sit this thing out."

I'm sorry, can you rewind that? I can't believe Pantsman just said that. At no point in all the years we've all known each other has Pantsman said, 'No, you're not allowed'. This was definitely a first on his part. Even though I didn't understand why a lot of the things were happening, but I still felt a rush of excitement when Pantsman had told us about them. I was feeling eager to kick some ass and chew bubblegum. But now it looks like Pantsman took my last piece of gum, so now I'm all out.

Aeris shared the same feeling. "So what are you saying? That you told us about the whole thing and just expect us to stand idly by while you go off and break some skulls? I can't fucking believe you!" She was practically shouting. "You dangle this carrot of danger and excitement in front of our faces and then just take it directly away!" She was panting after this little outburst. I had no idea how passionate she had gotten about the whole thing. All I said was a quiet, "I concur."

Pantsman looked like he was expecting us to behave that way. "Listen, guys. First of all, I never exactly told you what we were going to do. You assumed that we were just going to go beat some people up with some baseball bats, right? Well, things are a tad bit more complicated than that. If I made it sound that way, I apologize for teasing you guys. Second, did you really expect me to allow you guys to go and do God knows what with us? You have parents, who were already worried sick over Leo getting hit by a car."

I would've chuckled, since Aeris' parents hate me, but I didn't.

"I'm not even completely sure what we're going to do anyway. That crazy doctor is fucking dangerous, guys. Plus, he probably has back up. A lot more shit can go down that just a car accident. You guys can get killed, and you're both only in the 11th grade. I know that you guys, especially Aeris, like acting like you're much older than that, but when it comes right down to it, you're not. You're both still kids. Me? I don't have a family, so I have nothing to lose. Ternaldo probably wants revenge just as badly as I do. Right, Ternaldo?"

The hairy man grunted a haphazard yes.

"Krug has been a villain in the past. He might know of some of the things we'll be getting into, like the technology and whom the villains actually are. I was even considering getting Johnny Evilguy and Mr. Schwartzen Cop to join us. We're all experienced adults, who have seen the world already."

By this point, Aeris and I had just been verbally destroyed. Any sense of self dignity and pride was lost to us. To be called out on about being a child hurts more than most people might think. We felt like we were being told to go sit in a corner. I managed to attempt to defend our case.

"But why did you say 'we have a problem' and why did you make us trek out here to the hospital to visit Ternaldo if you weren't going to let us do anything?"

Pantsman frowned. "Oh, so that's why you thought…Okay. At the time, 'we' really did mean all of us. But as time passed, I felt more and more regretful about saying it like that. I had been thinking about all my points that I had just told you. I'm sorry if it came out the wrong way. And about Ternaldo, what do you mean why did I make you come to see him? I didn't make you do anything. Plus, he's you're friend. Would you not like to have seen him when he needs you the most."

Aeris facepalmed herself. I patted her shoulder. We were about to turn and leave, when Pantsman hastily added, "Wait! Just because you won't see action doesn't mean you can't still help out. With what, I don't know, but still!"

I turned and gave him a dirty look. "You know what, screw you Scott. Ternaldo, I hope you get better. Krug, nice seeing you." And with that, we left the room.

"Can you freaking believe him?" Aeris asked as we walked out of the hospital, back into the cold. The sun was beginning to set; after all, it was close to the Winter Solstice. I didn't exactly know what time it was, but it must have been around 5:30 or so. What a day, huh?

"No, I can't," I replied. "What a damn tease."

"Yeah, you said it."

There was silence for a brief period. Where we were walking, I wasn't even fully aware of anymore.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

Aeris shrugged. "Go back to normal, I guess. Maybe we could just start over from where we left off at school yesterday."

I grinned. "Normal…The very word just feels so strange, doesn't it?"

She closed her eyes and smiled back. "Yeah, it does."

"So do you wanna go back to my house to play a game?"

She laughed and said, "Sure."

Maybe going back to the norm wouldn't be so weird after all. Well, I was wrong. It actually never went completely back to the norm. But the weirdness wasn't so bad.

**OVERVIEW**

And so December 18 comes to a close for Leo and Aeris. So other than being denied the experience of a life time and getting into a massive argument, the two felines agree that the day wasn't so bad. They went back to Leo's house, and after being formally greeted by Leo's parents, started playing Goldeneye on the Wii once more. Now we're just left with a few questions. Will a romance ever spark between them? Will Pantsman and his gang be able to get their revenge on Doctor Crazo, or will the truth be too much to handle? Find out the answers in the next couple of exciting chapters.

**Author's Comments:**

**Well, I wish this chapter were better. It was all that was standing between this and the story getting back to the basics. Ever since the Pantsman and the doctor incident, I've been feeling like this story has been slipping. Leo and Aeris have also been slowly getting out of character. While I will continue Pantsman's plotline, I'll save that for much later. For now, I'm just going to focus on Leo and Aeris. Still, I'm proud of this chapter as long as everyone likes it, so…**


	15. Free House

Ch.15

Free House

"December 19"

**AERIS' POV**

_Blazing light, right in my damn face as I sleep. Oh God…That can mean only one thing…_

"Aeris, honey, wake up."

_Ugh… why me? Five more minutes, mom…_

"Aeris, come on, sweetie. It's already 10:57."

_So? I'm on vacation. I have all the time in the world…_

"Trust me, I don't like waking you up, since you sleep as heavily as a rock, but your father and I have something to tell you. We know it's a little early for you, but it's important nonetheless."

_Mmmmn…Come on, leave me alone…I'm only sleeping. Ha, just like The Beatles…_

"You're always so stubborn. Fine, I guess we'll wait…"

_There you go. Surrender is always music to my ears. Hm, so what was I dreaming about?_

_Oh yeah, Final Fantasy._

_Ooh, wow Tidus. You sure know how to suck…_

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

"AH! HOLY SHIT!" I yelled as I floundered to the ground in a daze, dropping my pillows, my Pikachu plushy, and my quilt all on top of me. I had to struggle with the weight of it all for a measly moment before I could reach my head above the mess.

"I told you that would work." I heard a gruff voice call from the distance.

"Yeah, yeah…" my mother muttered. I quickly met her eyes in a daze.

My mom was an early bird, and as such, she was already dressed. Her typical attire for a casual day at home for the winter, which consisted of a pair of sweatpants and a small shirt, was absent today. She wore jeans and a long sleeve T-Shirt, with a Hello Kitty symbol etched in the middle of her generous chest. While that also sounds pretty casual, when my mom wears jeans, it means she means business. What business is worthy of waking me up at the friggin' crack of damn dawn? I wonder what it could possibly be. In one pink-furred hand was a bullhorn. She had a remarkably smug smirk on her young-looking face (though in reality she was in her early forties, she could still pass off as a 30-year-old). The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. As you can imagine, I got angry.

"What the hell, mom! A bullhorn? Seriously?" I yelled. My parents didn't care if I swore in their faces. That's one good thing about them; they mostly let me be, because they trusted me well enough. I never got into trouble at school, or with the law, or went out drinking, or being a prostitute, etc. They were only ever really strict over Leo, for some reason, and I never appreciated that. They always told me I could get a smarter, handsomer, and overall better friend than Leo. I just told them to suck it. Well, not to their faces, anyway…

Basically, when you came right down to it, I was a foul-mouthed angel, just like my mother. She and I are honestly more alike than any other mother-daughter relationship I think I've ever seen. We look like each other, talk like each other, yell like each other, smack like each other…Yep, so and so.

My mom continued smirking. "Hey, how else are we supposed to wake you up?" She then smiled warmly, but I couldn't help glare at her with as much intensity as I could muster after being shaken out of sleep.

"Anyway, now that you're awake, get dressed. I made some breakfast." Well, that's a first, I thought with a dry sense of humor. "We're actually going to sit at the table and talk for once. Then you're free."

I groaned. "Why can't I just eat without getting dressed?"

My mother put her hands on her hips while still holding the bullhorn. "A nightshirt with no bra and purple panties without pants is no way to present yourself to your parents, young lady. Now I repeat; get dressed and meet us downstairs." With that, she went through the open door and closed it, leaving me to prepare myself for the day.

I groaned some more before getting up and throwing all the stuff that had fallen on me back on the bed. I went to my closet to find something to wear. After settling on some blue jeans and a pink long-sleeved shirt, I slowly ambled my way downstairs to the kitchen. I didn't plan on taking the time to put a bra on until I actually woke up and started the day.

My dad was wearing a business suit, oddly enough (he works in a law-firm, but I figured that he was on vacation just like the rest of us). His orange hair and fur was neatly combed. He was resting his head on one hand, while the other poked at some eggs and bacon with little energy. He seemed very tired. Or maybe his face always drooped like that; I dunno. My mom wasn't much better. While she was eating fervently, she seemed annoyed over something, a direct flipside to how she behaved when she woke me up. Maybe something really was wrong.

I pulled out a chair from the small table and sat down. A plate of delicacy was already in front of me. I nibbled on it a bit (I wasn't hungry) before finally asking the big question. "Alright, guys. What's going on? What's so important that you guys woke me up for?"

"Aeris, relax," my mother said. "Cid, why don't you explain." She motioned toward my dad.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat before he said, "Well…Um…Aeris, sweetie…" My father is a master of ellipses, didn't you know? He sighed and finally spilled the beans. "You're aunt Rosa is in the hospital."

I drank a bit of water and calmly said, "I have an aunt Rosa?"

My dad pinched the top of his nose, simulating a headache, while my mother laughed. "Oh, Aeris, I said the same thing when Cid told me." She patted my shoulder and I smiled at her.

"For the love of God, guys, how can you not know who my sister is?" my dad asked in exasperation. There was a slight hint of anger in his voice, and just like the rest of us, you wouldn't like him when he's angry. My mother hushed him and said, "We've only met her once. At a restaurant. Eleven years ago."

Eleven years…that would make me six by the time I met her. No wonder I didn't remember who Rosa was.

"Even so," my dad retaliated, "She's family. Aeris, you're mother and I have been talking about visiting her for a few days now. I only just heard that she was in the hospital due to an accident she had while riding on a motorcycle with her boyfriend. I haven't seen her in quite some time, so this would be a good opportunity."

I was barely listening, too busy playing with my tail, but I said, "So why did you have to wake me up to tell me this?"

My mom said, "Well…Rosa lives in Wisconsin. Your father has only just yesterday convinced me that we should take a plane to see her. Instead of just sending a get well card."

I looked back and forth between them in confusion. "So…you guys are already packed and everything?"

They both nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Now I have to scramble to pack!" I was about to get up and trounce my way back to my room, but my mother once again placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

My dad started to get defensive. "One, we weren't planning on taking you, so you don't have to worry about packing. Not because you don't know Rosa, but because we imagine you don't want to spend Christmas Break in a shabby hotel."

"Well neither do I!" My mom said angrily.

"Yeah, but you're my wife, Amy. You have no choice." He said dismissively.

"Two, we didn't tell you sooner because, well, you're hardly ever here anymore. You literally spend all day everyday hanging out with your stupid friend Leo. Would there be any difference for you if we were here or not?"

He waited a few moments to see if I would respond. I was a bit too flustered over the fact that he called Leo stupid, but he seemed to not notice.

He continued. "We were going to tell you yesterday, but you were at Leo's house until a little over midnight. By then, we were already asleep." His tone softened as he finished. "Besides, I think you'd enjoy it if you had the house to yourself anyway."

The truth is, I did. I had to resist the urge to jump from my chair, raise a fist in the air and shout "W00t!". That's how excited I was. It's always nice to have the house to yourself. I bet Leo would like that too…

We would both hang out here way more often that at his house if my parents didn't hate him or weren't here, I can assure you.

"So when are you guys leaving?" I asked.

"Tonight, actually." My mom said. "Around 8:00 p.m."

"Okay," I said. "Is that all you guys have to tell me?"

They nodded.

"Alright, I'll be up in my room."

**OVERVIEW**

Aeris stayed at her house the whole day to hang out with her parents before they left. They didn't do much, except sit around and watch TV, but it was quality time nonetheless. When Leo called her and asked her if she wanted to hang out, she respectfully, though painfully, declined. She of course told the story of what was going on and how ridiculous it was that her parents were just leaving all of a sudden. She didn't mention however that the realization may have come as such a shock due to him (Leo). The whole thing her father said really started to get to her. Did she spend so much time with Leo that she didn't know anything about what her parents did anymore? She luckily did not dwell on it for long. Her parents left at about 8 pm, just like they said they would. After hugging and getting kisses on her forehead from both of them, they left, driving carefully through the icy roads. It was a pretty bland day, as far as Aeris could tell, but oh well. At least every other day of the break would be enjoyable, right?

Leo's day was sadly made unbearably boring without Aeris. He was definitely disappointed over the fact that she couldn't hang out with him today. He couldn't call Pantsman or anyone else to hang out because they were douchebags who were busy fighting crime. So he just sat at home all day. He occasionally played video games, or "wrote" his name in the snow, or hung out with his parents, but sadly, the day just plain sucked. He also couldn't help but think of Aeris throughout most of the day, struggling with his untold affection. But we don't need to hear about his petty love issues every damn chapter, or else this story will start to sound like _Twilight_. And God knows that one _Twilight_ story in the world is WAY TOO FUCKING MANY.

We would elaborate more on December 19, but all you really need to know is that Aeris' parents went on a trip, meaning the house is left for Aeris- and maybe Leo- to do whatever in, without the risk of adult supervision. You catchin' mah drift? They're free, is basically what this chapter is telling us.

We don't expect you to like this chapter, but just know that it is important for later plot points. Don't take our negative prodding seriously; we're just fucking around.

Author's Note:

Aeris' parents inform her that they're going on a trip. Did the overview at the end make you guys laugh? I was laughing. Goofy chapter, right? Yeah, I know. This chapter may seem virtually pointless, but I made it for a few reasons. One, I didn't want to make Leo and Aeris' parents main characters, so I tried to include them as little as possible. It'd get cheesy if I kept making the excuse that they were "somewhere else" when Leo and Aeris were around, wouldn't it? Why not take them out all together? Two, while planning out my story for a few chapters, I forgot about their parents, and the obvious effects that they would have in later events. In order to fit this story in with the canon of the comic as much as possible (I'm not spoiling, but it'll be good), I had to have at least one set of parents go away. Like I said, this chapter serves little to no purpose. Just know that it is important.


	16. Inner Hassle

Ch.16

Inner Hassle

"December 20"

_Jingle, jingle, jingle…_

_Why won't it stop?_

_Ching, ching, ching…_

_That noise just won't stop._

_Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle…_

_Is it a bell, or a fucking drum?_

_Chang, chang, chang…_

_Please make it stop…_

_Jingle, jingle, jingle…_

_Sometimes I think it's a church bell._

_Ching, ching, ching…_

_But it's not. It's not a cowbell either._

_Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle…_

_It's just a little, insignificant bell. The kind you could find in a Wal-Mart._

_Chang, chang, chang…_

_It emits a little light. A white light. Like an angel._

_Jingle, jingle, jingle…_

_That feeling…of being in a cave…is back…_

_Ching, ching, ching…_

_The little noises don't sound familiar._

_Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle…_

_Why not? Is the bell different?_

_Chang, chang, chang…_

_It's shine is…orange? Orange? Not blue…?_

_Jingle, jingle, jingle…_

_Where is my bell?_

_Ching, ching, ching…_

_That bell isn't mine. It's a stranger's._

_Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle…_

_The angel is different too._

_Chang, chang, chang…_

_Where's that familiar white and pink? That sensation of a girl?_

_Jingle, jingle, jingle…_

_No…This angel is…_

_Ching, ching, CHING…_

_He…_

_TINKLE, TINKLE, TINKLE…_

_ He…?_

_CHANG, CHANG, CHANG…_

_He's gray and white…Just like me…_

_JINGLE, JINGLE, BA-BUMP…_

_Wait…Is he…?_

_BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP…_

_Am I…?_

_BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP…_

_In his hand rests the bell. And something else._

_BA-BUMP._

_Something glowing._

_BA-BUMP._

_Something glowing…_

_BA-_

_It's golden._

_BUMP._

_It's lovely._

_BA-_

_It's…nostalgic._

_BUMP!_

_He smiles. Warmly._

_BA-_

_He says something. I think…_

_BUMP!_

'_Something more…'_

_BA-_

_That's what he said._

_BUMP!_

'_You want something more than just this.'_

_BA-_

_Do I?_

_BUMP!_

'_Yes, you do.'_

**AERIS' POV**

"Wait…you want us to meet where?"

"At Starbucks. I figure a little pick-me-up would work wonders for ya."

"Ugh…Why can't we go there together?"

"Because I'm already there."

Wow, really? I knew Leo was an early bird (half the time, anyway; we all have our good mornings and bad mornings), but I didn't think he'd be up so soon. Er, wait…what time was it?

I looked over at the microwave clock. It was a quarter pass noon.

"Fuck…!" I mumbled as I realized what time it was. Some of the pop tart I was eating spewed unattractively from my mouth into my bowl. Gross; I hate second harvest.

"Um, Aeris…"

Oh, whoops.

"Heh, sorry Leo. I didn't know I slept so late." He sighed, exasperated. I tried not to giggle. I can always get under Leo's skin. Even if I don't smack him upside the head for being a fucking moron, he STILL behaves the way he does sometimes.

"Was it a lonely night without your parents?"

He hit the nail on its head.

"Hmph. Am I that obvious?" I asked with slight annoyance.

"No, but I think anyone would be a little lonely. I know I'd probably break down into tears if my mom said she'd be leaving so spontaneously and not being back for a long time."

"That's because you're her baby boy. She spoils you, ya know."

"Shut up, Aeris." I laughed, and so did he. Hm, this was normal…

"You could have called me and invited me over once your parents left, you know."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I could have."

There was silence for a brief moment between us. That's kind of weird.

"Leo, you know I'm just teasing you, right?"

There was a little more silence, before he finally spoke up.

"So, are you coming or what?" he asked. Typical Leo.

"Give me the chance to have breakfast at least, jeez. Are you that eager to see me?" I expected him to say no. Or actually, the silence treatment is more his style. After all, we've hung out so much that it has literally become routine, to the point where we don't even think about it anymore. I realize yesterday was the exception, but it was probably the ONLY exception, at least as far as I can care to remember. But he broke my expectations. He's been doing that a lot lately.

"Yes, I fucking did, Aeris."

I frowned, suddenly feeling slightly bad. Maybe I should have called him yesterday. I didn't know he missed me.

"Oh. Leo, I…"

There was a slight shuffle on the other line.

"Gotcha."

"What?"

"Aeris, I'm just fucking with you." He laughed.

I felt a small blush on my cheeks. Thank God telephones don't show your face.

"That's not funny, you asshole!" I said through clenched teeth.

He laughed again. "Oh, Aeris. I'm an idiot, remember? Not an asshole."

_Is that confidence I hear on the other line?_

"You sure are, you little…"

He laughed once again. He sure was upbeat today. Then again, ignorance is bliss, right? Apparently so. His behavior was a little…ehm, how do I put this? Self-destructive? Yet he seemed more confident than I had heard him sound in a long time. Did something crazy happen last night?

"Anyway, hurry up! I can't drink coffee all day! Gotta go, bye!" He was about to hang up!

"Wait a second, Leo!"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Are you okay? Nothing wrong?"

"Since when are you concerned about my well being?"

"Well, it's not like the past few days have been the best between us, you know…"

_The punch._

Leo sighed. "You're still upset about that? You really need to learn to not dwell on the negative. I'm fine, really. Despite…you know, my ribs are feeling mostly fine. I took it really easy yesterday and now they're better. Not perfect, mind you, as they flare up if you put any amount of pressure on them, but at least I can move around like a normal cat."

I started to get a little angry. Whether or not he was fine or not wasn't important. It was a little inclination on his part that pissed me off. "Well, damn Leo. Excuse me for still being a little upset about that. God forbid I actually feel guilty and care about you."

"You've never felt guilty about all the other times you smacked me, kicked me in the balls, and whatever the hell else!"

Harsh silence, except the small pat of a pop tart clattering into a bowl.

Leo sighed again. "Look, Aeris…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

I stiffened. "No, you shouldn't have."

"It's just that…Well, I don't think we've ever honestly handled a situation like that before. Not ever. What am I supposed to say? What am I supposed do? How should I act when I'm around you or speaking to you?"

"Well, I don't know…Maybe not like everything's unicorns and rainbows, when it's so obviously not. It's okay to act how you feel. That's what I do."

He scoffed. "So I've noticed." There was a small pang to his voice, but I couldn't identify his emotion. He continued.

"Once again, I ask you how I should act. I'm not going to spend all of my time just being angry with you. I won't do that. I _can't_ do that. You already said you were sorry, and proven to me that you lo-, I mean, that you…um, you know what I'm trying to say…"

How could I not? He only made me give away my most precious of items. It was worse than any idiotic thing he's ever done, including buying a fucking box of rocks with my money and calling it a video game console. He's still a bastard for that, but I won't hold it against him. Not for now, anyway. Muahahahaha…

"Hm…maybe we should continue this conversation when I get over to where you are, huh?" We still had a lot to talk about. I didn't even mention our behavioral differences, mostly mine.

_Concern and confidence._

"Yeah…I guess that'd be a good idea. So when exactly can you get over here?"

I scoffed. "You really caught me at the worst possible moment. I still have to 'get ready' and walk over there."

"Can't you just drive?"

Truth be told, I could. My parents left their spare car for me to use. Don't ask me what kind; I'm not the kind of person who devotes all my time and energy into automobiles. Either way, I do have my learner's permit, sure, but I really rather not drive. Not while it's as icy and cold on the roads as it's been over the last few days. I'd rather rely on my parents to do something like that, and I had when we drove to the hospital for Leo. I haven't checked the weather since the day of the last exam, but I had been checking the temperature on my computer. The temperature remained along the same area. I figured that because of that and the ever-increasing amount of snow falling from the sky, the roads probably weren't drive worthy, at least not by my standards. I mean, I can drive, but I'm no expert. So due to that, I said no.

"Ugh…fine. Maybe we shouldn't meet at Starbucks. I know; how about we meet at Kazooie Park?"

"Damn, how long has it been since we've been there?"

"Um…Since we were kids? I don't know. Childhood memories are kind of fuzzy for me."

I felt surprised. "Really? Since when?"

"Dunno. There's that concern in your voice again."

I face-palmed with my one free hand to the sound of Leo's own mocking laughter.

"So I'll see you at the park?"

"Yeah, I guess. Just give me like half an hour." The park was much closer to our houses than the Starbucks. It was actually only a few blocks over, in the opposite direction of Starbucks, so Leo would take awhile getting there. He could technically pass by my house if he wanted.

"Alright. Bye, Aeris. I lo-, um…Sorry, never mind."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Oh, n-nothing. So I'll be seeing you…"

"Okay…"

We both hung up.

Weirdo, I thought.

I tried to eat my pop tart again, but it was no longer warm, and thus, no longer appetizing.

After a short shower, I stepped into my room and walked over to the closet. I picked out my clothes. I opted for a red long-sleeved shirt, a purple jacket, and some jeans (and underwear of course, but you don't need to hear about that). I decided to check my Emails on my PC. Because of my parents, I didn't really get the chance to check my email yesterday, so I figure I could do it now. Mac sucks, by the way.

No new fanfic story chapters for the stories I've been following, except for one of Sonic the Hedgehog. It's not one of my particular favorites, so I figured I could skip it for now. Checking Yahoo!, I had a few new emails. I check the first one; my one story (over FF10) received a new review.

"_Ew, yaoi shiz is fuckin gross, you nasty fag!"_ The email said. I then proceeded to verbally destroy the reviewer, call his/her mother a fucking whore, and block him/her from my contacts. I hate it when people simply go on other people's stories and bitch and moan how its ideologies are screwed up or it rips someone else's story off. It's like some people have no life of their own and simply abuse it for the sake of ranting about how life sucks. Get over yourself, hot damn.

"Great," I said aloud. "I'm going to be in a bad mood when Leo." I rested my head on my hand in exasperation. I picked the next one. It was from our favorite douche: none other than Scott himself. I decided to just ignore it; what exactly could he say anyway? The same crap he told Leo and me already? I wasn't in the mood to hear it again.

I closed my window and was about to get up, when I thought of something.

_Are there any new movies out?_

First, I reached over to my nightstand and grabbed my wallet. $27, eh? Not half bad. I could probably pay for Leo and myself, as long as Leo got the drinks and popcorn. I'd have to ask him if he had any money. Trust me when I say that it's a rarity when he does. Half the time, he blows it on random shit that Johnny Evilguy sells. I remember this one time when he bought like fifty boxes of Pocky from him, and all the boxes were empty. I laughed my ass off while Leo went and sulked. That was the best Thanksgiving ever.

I went online to AMC Theater's website. Several trailers were available. Let's see…

Hm, there's a new Street Fighter movie. It's all about Chun Li. I clicked on the trailer. The movie looked like utter shit. I smiled; it was a video game movie, but I figure, why not? Leo somehow loved the first Street Fighter movie, even though I nearly lost my mind over its stupidity and beat Leo up for recommending it in the first place. Ah, memories.

So with my plan in motion, I shut the computer off and went to go meet Leo.

**LEO'S POV**

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit…I almost told Aeris that I loved her!" I manically whispered. I had waltzed out of Starbucks and had been walking for a while. The park would soon come into sight. The sky was finally beginning to clear up a bit, so that a shred or two of sunlight could be found if you looked hard enough around. It made the snow look shiny and mesmerizing…

I was feeling surprisingly nervous. Aeris doesn't suspect anything, does she? No. She wouldn't have the tact to hold something like that in for long. I guess I really have nothing to worry about. Still, that was a close call, and I need to be careful.

Speaking of Aeris, what was up with her on the phone? Was that actual genuine concern that she felt for me? What an odd occurrence. I don't think Aeris has ever shown an emotion like that to anyone, except her parents. Well actually, that's not entirely true. She was a very nice and quiet girl when I first met her, as you all know already. She always acted very motherly toward me, almost like an older sister would to her baby brother. But then… Something just snapped. She stopped her pleasant behavior and has now been acting the way she has since… the start of Middle School? I can't seem to remember what exactly happened between us. Was it something I said? Hell, like I said, I barely remember anything since I was little. Only memories of Aeris seem to stick out in my mind…

Obviously, nothing so severe happened between us that we stopped being friends. But something just… changed. Like an autumn leaf, or a pool if you piss in it.

I shook my head, trying to wave away these awkward thoughts. They were starting to give me a headache. I hate headaches.

The park was just coming into view. It was your typical child's park. It wasn't a playground, so there wasn't any slides, but there were a few swings. I don't think you would want to sit on one, though, since you'd freeze your tail off. Remarkably, there were a few street lamps positioned at random spots in the park. Like any child would be hanging out at a place like this at night. I've never heard any stories, but you can never be too careful. Or so my Mom always said. As far as I could tell, there were no occupants. It was just going to be and Aeris.

Alone. In the middle of a field. Where a bunch of trees stood to block out our view from various bystanders and passersby. Yep, the perfect place to just talk to your best friend, who you've known almost all your life. The friend you can count on, to back you up, and love you. The kind of friend who makes you laugh and smile. The kind of friend you want to lose yourself to, into all that white and pink velvet…

The kind of friend who punched up while you were down. The kind of friend who broke your spirit and told you that her gifts to you meant nothing but jack shit. The kind of friend who left you stranded and alone, and she didn't even know it. The kind of friend who gave up their most prized possession to prove their secret devotion to you. The friend who left you alone to face that other cat. That gray cat with hungry green eyes, just like yours, full of ambition and desire. That cat that wants what you've got. The cat that _needs_ what you've got.

Yes, your friend, who has caused you to feel more pain, anguish, and love than you have ever known before or will. The friend that saved you. The friend that saved you from being alone, before you even realized you were alone. The friend that gave you her best. The friend of your dreams, sitting somewhere in her nice, warm house, getting ready to see you once again. The friend that you set up a wall against, to protect yourself against these alien feelings. The wall of idiocy and comedy. The wall that broke only just a few days ago. Now, you don't need to feel like your stupid anymore, or worthless. Now, the world is so much clearer. And you're so much more confused. Who are you, anyway?

'_For the best'._

And it that moment, I felt a strong hand clamp down on my shoulder.


	17. The Hat

Ch.17

The Hat

**LEO'S POV**

I spat and yowled a bit as I whirled around, clumsily aiming my fist to punch whomever my assailant was. I don't care who ever it was, even Aeris. Nobody has the right to bother you when you're going through a freaking epiphany!

The slightly satisfying and sadistic sound of my hand making contact never came, though. Before I could register who the person was, he/she caught my hand and twisted it behind my back. I cringed from the slight pain; whoever this guy was (and I know it's a he because I can break out of most arm-locks, except the ones from Aeris, but upon further consideration, I doubt that she would sneak up on me like that), he was strong.

"Woah, boy! Just what do ya think you're doing?" A slightly raspy and awkward voice spat. I recognized my assailant; Johnny Evilguy.

"Jesus Christ," I said, slightly high-pitched from my arm, "it's just you. What were you doing sneaking up on me like that anyway?"

He let go of me. I slowly turned around, rubbing my arm. Yep, it was Johnny Evilguy all right. He was in his traditional black cloak, though this one looked a bit thicker, probably due to the cold weather of winter. Well, cold-ER weather. A visible cloud of breath ominously puckered through the air at set intervals, indicating his steady breathing. The hood covered his eyes. I don't think I have ever seen them before; I imagine that they are either brown or red. His lower lip still boasted a bushy mustache, like it always has (can't remember what that's called; a goatee?), but now it looked like his upper-lip would grow a genuine mustache of its own soon enough. In his arms were a few small boxes, most likely his offbeat merchandise. He was grinning slightly, from all the confusion of the previous moment.

"Heh, sorry about all that. I thought you were someone else." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, even though he was still holding a box. I wondered who the hell looks like me from behind, and a faint sound that echoed like a bell seemed to break into my mind, but I quickly shoved the thought away. Johnny continued. "Anyway, I haven't seen you wander around out here in a while. What's the occasion?"

I smiled and shrugged. "Nothing special; Aeris just told me to met up with her here."

Johnny grimaced. "Ugh, the pink girl. How in God's name can you put up with her day after day?"

I laughed. Aeris has been treating Johnny like crap ever since the monkey paw incident. After I realized that there was no _Duke Nukem Forever _cartridge/disk inside of the game box, I shouted angrily up at the sky, yelling "**Paaaaaawwwww**!" I then threw the box away and started bitterly crying. I carried the life-sized hot dog all the way home, taking a bite off of it every now and again. By going home, I mean that I went to Aeris' house, to tell her what happened. I broke down in front of her, and she hugged me until I stopped. I then explained to her what happened, and she found Johnny and beat him up, even though it technically wasn't his fault. Johnny didn't speak to me for two days after that, until I finally tracked him down and apologized on Aeris' behalf. Since then, the two haven't seen eye to eye at all. That doesn't bother me too much though, since she doesn't like any of my friends.

"Ah, you get used to the beatings after a while," I said.

"Maybe you can," he said dismally. I laughed again.

"So what brings you out to the park anyway?" I asked.

"Just looking for more suckers- er, I mean CUSTOMERS. Here, take a look at my new stuff! I just updated my supply yesterday!" He placed the boxes on the ground and began to open up a few.

"Okay," I muttered, busily looking at Johnny's new crap.

Chocolate frogs, assorted jellybeans, poker cards, some Krusty-flavored frogurt (whatever the fuck that's supposed to be), a shovel, a small bottle, a hat, a carrot, a pack of cards, and weird purple pieces of paper.

"Um, wow. It kind of looks like you have stuff from Harry Potter," I said. He laughed at that, but I wasn't kidding.

"Are you interested in buying anything?" he asked.

"Sure, I have a bit of money. Let me examine some stuff."

I bent down to pick up a few things, while Johnny leaned on a tree I hadn't noticed before. Things were quiet for a moment before I said, "I'm surprised to not see you holding a bag on nuts in your hands, handling them with oh so delicate care." I giggled a bit; it was impossible to keep a straight face over something so ridiculous.

Johnny didn't seem offended in the slightest. He said calmly, "Got rid of the damn thing. I really wasn't thinking when I bought all those nuts, and a few days ago I finally decided to just threw it away. Besides, all the accumulated sweat and grease from them wears on your tongue after a while."

"Uh…too much information, Johnny." I could already feel the urge to burp; an early sign when you think you're going to puke.

He chuckled. "Heh, sorry."

I looked up at him, then back down to the merchandise. He was absentmindedly looking up at the sky. I was busy holding up the hat when Johnny asked me something.

"Have you ever seen red snow falling from the sky?"

I looked up again. "Huh? Red snow?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, man. Sometimes I see snow fall from the sky, and instead of being white, I swear that it is red. It's only happened to me a few times in my life, but I still see it sometimes. The last time I saw it was a few days ago. I think December 17, it was."

I looked at him as if he were crazy. December 17 was the day I got hit by that truck. "Uh…No. No, I've never seen snow do that before. Are you sure your mind isn't playing tricks on you?"

He shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Trust me when I say that I'd rather be imagining it than anything else. Red snow…feels unnatural, somehow."

I continued to stare at him for a while. He cocked his head to face me and said, "So, did you find something you like?"

Back to reality. I quickly said, "No, just give me a few more minutes."

He said okay. I went back to the hat. It was a typical top hat, nothing too special. There was kind of a weird indention on the face of it. Lines seemed to form kind of a star shape inside of a circle. I didn't think much of it. That was probably just its design, as bizarre as it is. Looking at the carrot and the shovel, I thought that Aeris and I could make a snowman. So I pulled those from the pile and put them off to the side.

I then picked up the small bottle. I shook it; it sounded like there were pills in it. I looked at the label. It said, _"Miracle in a jar! Feeling down, depressed, or suicidal? Do you hate your best friend but at the same time love him/her? Then you need Smoraphol! Smoraphol relieves depression symptoms and stress by releasing a series of endorphins into your system! Feel better immediately! It's just like Ecstasy, only legal! Side effects include off and on ignorance-is-bliss syndrome, thinking that U2 is a good band, and the unquenchable desire to buy everything at Johnny Evilguy's Little Knick Knack Shop." _Homebrew medicine, most likely from Johnny Evilguy. No way in Hell was I going to buy this. The idea that it could make me happy did sound tempting, but I didn't want to get rid of my problems artificially. No, I would have to face my demons head on. So I put the pill bottle down.

"Alright, I got everything I want." I stood up.

Johnny walked over to see my choices. "So you're going to make a snowman with the pink girl, is that right?"

"Yeah. We haven't made one in years. I think this would do a good job of making us both cheer up." I smiled at some really fond memories. It was almost dizzying, seeing as how all my thought escalated to nostalgia in the blink of an eye.

"Hm? 'Make you both cheer up'? Are you both not happy right now?"

_There's that damn concern again._

I immediately felt downcast. Great, now I'm going to have to talk to him about it. But instead of saying anything like that, I smiled nervously and said, "Uh, no. That's not what I meant. I just mean that making a snowman would make us both happy. You know, let us think of the good times we have had over the years."

Johnny shrugged. "Yeah, I guess, kid. Anyway, the total for all that snowman stuff is $17."

"What luck!" I said excitedly. "That's just the exact same amount that I have!"

He grinned and held out his hand. "Awesome, son."

I reached in my pocket and pulled out my wallet. I took out 3 fives and 2 ones, and the job was done. He packed all of his supplies up, except for all the stuff I paid for and the purple papers.

"Here take these as well," Johnny said, holding the purple papers out to me. I took them interestingly.

"They are what you call 'Bison dollars'."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Bison dollars? You mean M. Bison from _Street Fighter_?"

"The very same. He made some of those dollars. He always used to say he would make them the currency of England, just as soon as he could kidnap their queen. It wasn't any of my business, but I managed to get my hands on those. They're pretty rare."

I felt happy as a clam. M. Bison is one of my favorite fucking video game villains, and to hold actual bills that he actually made, was something special indeed. Too bad Johnny didn't tell me at the time that they were worthless. That was a little lesson I learned later that day, actually.

"And you're just giving them to me?"

"Balls yeah, I am. I have no use for them."

"Wow, thanks man."

He smiled. "It's least I could do. You're a regular costumer, after all."

I smiled back at him. We were good friends, he and I.

"So where you heading off to now?" I said.

He rubbed his chin. "Probably downtown. Most people down there buy anything that someone shakes in front of them. I better be off. Ta-ta, Leo."

He took a few steps before a thought occurred to me. "Hey, wait up a sec!" I ran over to him.

"What?"

"Um…has Pantsman made contact with you in a while? Like in the last few days? If he has, has he asked you to do some… stuff?"

Johnny looked at me strangely. "No…no, he hasn't. Why? Is something up with him?"

I quickly shook my head. Turns out Pantsman, Ternaldo, and Krug weren't serious after all, or at least they weren't including everyone. Now, I didn't feel so left out.

"No, not as far as I know. I was just curious, that's all." Johnny nodded in understanding.

"Well, I gotta go. You gotta spend money to make money, or so they say." With that, he left to go out of the park. I picked the stuff up and turned around. I walked deeper into the park, hoping to find a bench to sit in.

If only I had known that as soon as Johnny left me, he broke out into a panicked run.

So I kept walking with all the stuff in hand. It wasn't too heavy. I had put the purple bills in my wallet, to make up for the lost money. Everything else, I carried in my two arms.

Not two minutes later did I find a small bench, where I could wait for Aeris. I was in a pretty open area, so she could find me pretty easily. So I sat down and set all my stuff next to me. I got out my I-Pod to start listening to music. I started to listen to _The Beatles_. Weird, huh? I honestly didn't know why I had them on my I-Pod, since I'm not their biggest fan. Aeris sure is, but I'm not. Oh wait, that's actually why I have them on it.

See, Aeris bought me my I-Pod on one of my many birthdays; can't remember which one. But she said if she ever lost her I-Pod, or it got stolen, or I accidentally destroyed it, then I should give her mine. Thankfully, she still has her own, so I still have mine.

I started up _'With a Little Help from my Friends'_, and found that I was actually in the mood to listen to it. So I sat back on the bench with my hands behind my head for a few moments. I then looked down at the stuff next to me. I smirked at the hat; it might make me look like my freaking Dad. Imagine him seeing me in a top hat. He'd either be extremely proud, or mortified.

I laughed aloud and reached down to the hat. I set it atop my head and then sat back, still listening to the same song.

After a few seconds, I remembered how much I fucking hate The Beatles. Again, not sure why, but I just do. Some weird feeling seemed to come over me; I felt more in the mood for heavy metal right at this moment. I scrolled through my I-Pod listings and eventually found what I was looking for: _Nine Inch Nails_, and the album _Pretty Hate Machine_.

"**Head like a hole! Black as your soul! I'd rather die, than give you control! Head like a hole! Black as your soul! I'd rather die, than give you control! Bow down before the one you serve; you're going to get what you deserve! Bow down before the one you serve; you're going to get what you deserve!"** I said rather loudly. No one would be around to hear me, but even if they were, fuck them. They didn't know real music. This was epic, man.

Fuck yes, this was epic shit.

**AERIS' POV**

I grabbed my purple jacket on the way out of the front door. After locking it, I went to the park. It was a pretty easy walk. I only had to walk a few blocks and cross one road. Surprisingly, the park was devoid of all noise when I first got there. Not a single kitten or puppy screaming their heads off while throwing snowballs at each other. That's odd. Maybe the little kids aren't off of school yet. I wouldn't know, since I'm not in Middle School anymore. Thank God.

I was just thinking of how lucky Leo and I were when I saw him sitting on a bench a little further off. Glad I really didn't have to hunt him down. The park is pretty small, and it has a lot of open areas. There are quite a few trees to use for cover during snowball fights, but the park is far from crowded.

So I approached him. As I got closer, I suddenly saw how…_ridiculous_, Leo was looking right now. He was wearing a top hat, which didn't suit him, to be honest. The top hat also looked funny. It seemed…crooked. Not from the position it was in while being on Leo's head, but the shape of the hat itself seemed distorted. Not only that, but he was bobbing his head up and down like crazy! It was hilarious. That must be one hell of a song he was listening to (I could see the ear bud wires).

But wait. Why did Leo have a top hat? A few more steps answered my question. There was a shovel and a carrot next to him on the bench. I smiled; that was awfully considerate of him, bringing stuff to make a snowman with. Making snowmen was always my favorite thing to do when we went out to play in the snow when we were little tykes.

So I went right next to him and sat down. The bench was pretty wide; wider than I ever remember it being. Leo didn't notice. He was still moving as if he was having a seizure. After a while, I got tired of waiting. So, I gently tapped Leo on the shoulder. He didn't seem to feel it. I lightly shook his shoulder. Still, nothing. I nudged him with my elbow. Again, nothing. Finally, I slapped him across the face out of frustration, narrowly missing the hat. He let out a sharp yelp before looking to me. I smirked.

He took out the ear buds and said angrily, "What the fuck was that for, Aeris?"

I let out a bit of air from my nose. "I was just trying to get your attention."

He rubbed his face. "Do you think next time you could not hurt me? Dear God…"

"Oh come on! I didn't hit you that hard."

"Have you ever slapped yourself? Jesus Christ, it's like getting hit by a giant fly-swatter."

I shrugged. "Don't know my own strength, I guess."

He unceremoniously pointed at his ribs and glared at me. "You got that right…"

I stared at him. I didn't feel good when he kept bringing up his goddam ribs. "Um…right."

His gaze didn't soften. "So…we came here to talk, right?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah."

He sighed and sat back on the bench, staring at the cloudy sky. "I told you to stop caring so much about me, and you told me that you couldn't do that and not act as if nothing had happened. Now, I'm not sure if either of those suggestions were good ideas." He looked up at me. "Are you happy where we stand right now, because I'm not. All this tension has been killing me, and there's no reason for it. Every time we meet up with each other, we talk about the same shit that happened again and again. We need to just drop the whole thing and have everything go back to the way it was."

"But we can't," I said. "It's hard to forget something when we are constantly reminded of it. Like your ribs. Every time you feel pain, don't you think of what happened?"

"You don't need to worry about what I feel and what I don't," he said coldly.

"Yes, I do!" I exclaimed. "You're my best friend! Why can't I show concern for you? What can't I-" He interrupted me.

"Because I don't need your help. Your concern…" He grit his teeth. "…Just makes the pain worse. What you don't seem to realize was that the whole thing was my fault, and to constantly feel pity just drives me bat-shit nuts. The talk we had on the phone was the same shit as this."

I didn't know what to say. I had no idea how much I was hurting him, AGAIN. I didn't mention how he seemed much more distant and angry right now than when we talked on the phone, but looking back, I probably should have.

He reached his arms towards me and pulled me closer to him, in a semi-hug. I hugged him back right away.

"Now's right about the time you would push me away and punch me…"

I looked at him. Our faces were mere inches apart once more. His face was completely relaxed and handsome. I felt the desire to lick my lips, but I didn't. The hat seemed to loom over his face like a dark idol. I pulled my arms of him and scooted back just a bit. I placed my hands on the hat.

"What are you doing?" He asked me, clearly alarmed.

I pulled the hat off of him. I was surprised the feel that the hat was latched onto him, like a bug. But I thought nothing of it. I was too focused on his face.

As soon as his naked ears were exposed to the cold air, he snapped his gaze straight ahead. He drew in a quick breath and held it for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and let it out. I watched with fascination before looking down at the hat in my hands. I suddenly didn't feel like making a snowman. This hat seemed to be bad news. I was just noticing the indent on the face of it when Leo reached down and held my hands, forcing me to release the hat. It fell to our feet.

He smiled at me. He looked much happier than he had one moment ago. He moved my left hand over his right cheek. He then started purring, of all things.

"Uh…wh-what are you doing?" I asked him.

He let go, but he continued to smile. "Nothing. I've just been thinking about things."

I gave him a strange look. "What things?"

_Not…romantic things, right? Right?_

He shook his head. "Just how stupid this has been, arguing about everything that has happened these last few days. I really don't want to talk anymore, and I don't think you do either."

"That sounds like a damn fine idea," I said. This whole thing was just getting exhausting.

"Alright, then it's settled. So do you want to build a snowman?" He stood up.

"Actually, no…" I said slowly, looking up at him.

"What? What do you mean you don't want to build a snowman? You use to love making them."

"Yeah, but-"

He looked sad. "Okay, that's fine. I just thought that this would be fun for us to do. Something you would actually be interested in doing with me. You know, for nostalgia's sake. But, I guess not."

I felt bad. "Wait! I, uh…I mean we can still make one…"

He brightened immediately. "Great! Hey, can you grab the shovel and the carrot for me?" He picked up the hat and ran off ahead of me.

"Hey, wait up!" I called.

He laughed as I tried catching up to him.

"Slow down, you bastard!" I shouted.

That only made him run faster and laugh harder. I couldn't help but smile. These really were like old times. Though I still felt like our issues weren't completely resolved, I didn't feel the need to kick the dead horse. Leo had already moved on. Actually, how did he do that? One moment, he's as depressed as shit, then he's as jumpy and crazy as he ever was. It all seemed to come back to the hat. I still didn't feel too excited about making the snowman, because I really did fell like something bad was going to happen.

_What's wrong with you, Aeris? What the fuck can be so dangerous about a fucking hat? Surely, Leo's change in behavior is just a coincidence. Besides, you know him to be like that. Just build the damn snowman to make him happy._

I love my inner deity's logic. Of course there was nothing to be afraid of. I was just going to have some fun.

Finally, Leo slowed down. He was wheezing by this time. Me, I was panting, but not completely out of breath. Leo was in far worse shape than I was. I looked around to where he led us. Another part of the park, but slightly more open than where we were.

"So, this is where we will build it." I said. Leo only nodded.

"Okay, after you stop acting like a 300-pound old man, take the shovel and start preparing a huge boulder of a snowball. That'll be the lowest part of our snowman. I'll be working on the mid-section and the head."

Leo had caught his breath. He nodded to my commands and I handed him the shovel. He handed me the hat. I held it uneasily for a second, before throwing it as far away from myself as I could. Luckily, Leo was faced away from me, so he didn't see that. I tossed the carrot right next to the hat.

And so the work began. When I was halfway done with the mid-section Leo said to me, "Do you think if we sing the Frost the Snowman song, he'll come to life?"

I laughed scornfully. "You use to always want to try doing that with all the snowmen we used to build, but it never worked."

"Yeah, but this could be the one!"

I looked over at him. He wasn't even close to finishing the abdomen of the snowman. He had his old goofy grin on his face. A grin I had missed for days now.

"I think that hat was sucking away at your brain. Poor thing must have been starving."

"Oh, screw you. I'm singing it anyway," he said without reprimanding.

I went back to my work. "Suit yourself."

So blah, blah, blah, many a minute passed before we were finished. Leo had apparently messed up while making the abdomen twice, so while I was finished and collecting stones to made the mouth and eyes, he was still screwing up.

Finally, he made a sturdy enough ball of snow. So we rolled all three balls together in a line. I picked up the mid-section and placed it onto the abdomen. Leo started to sing. I'll admit, he wasn't a half bad singer.

"_Frosty the Snowman, is a fairytale, they say."_ He looked over at me and smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"_He was made of snow, but the children know…"_ He put the head on and put the rocks into formation.

"_How he came to life one day."_ He stuck the carrot into the head. Then he held the hat in two hands and set it in place.

Nothing happened. The snowman was just a snowman. We waited, or actually Leo waited…And waited…And waited…

"I told you so," I said.

Suddenly, the snowman started shining.

"Ha! I told YOU so!" He said triumphantly. I was amazed. There was no way this could actually be happening. Huh, those cartoons must have all been documentaries.

The snowman started to bounce u and down a bit. The stones that made up his eyes turned out to be his pupils, as small circles of snow appeared to represent his eyes. The stones making up his mouth stuck closely together in a centipede-like shape, before all of them broke in made and opened, revealing a black hole with white pearly snow teeth and a bright red tongue. Long bands of snow bubbled out from either side of him and began to tumble into the shape of arms.

He looked down at us, as jolly as old Saint Nick himself. Leo was crying tears of joy. I was gaping like a retard.

He was just about to say something, when something terrible happened. His jolly grin twisted into a snarl of agony. He reached his arms up in front of his face. The hat on his head seemed to be shuffling around. The indention suddenly lit up a glowing blood-red. It was in the shape of a pentagram. Blood began seeping out of his eyes, like when fucking Itachi used his Sharingan powers on Sasuke during their big fight in the anime _Naruto_.

Leo was no longer cheerful, but instead he looked horrified. I myself was beginning to feel a little ill. Frosty continued to wheeze and try to cease the pain, when his eyes stopped bleeding. A red coloring spread through them, so now they were completely coated in a crimson filter. His pearly white teeth inside his mouth began yellow and ragged, as if they were not made of snow. Hell, for all I knew, they probably were real. He reached his arms up to the sky and let out a devastating roar. I covered my ears. His roar was the sound of earthquakes raging, volcanoes erupting, tornados screaming, and tsunamis crashing. Every natural disaster rolled into one.

When he was done, he lowered his arms and looked down at us. His red tongue, no a mushy gray color licked his teeth in oozing appetite.

Leo muttered, "Holy shit…"

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, ya'll. I've been both busy and lazy, which makes for a dangerous combo when you want to write. This is far from the greatest chapter ever. It's kind of slow at first, but it does pick up in pace at the end there. Aeris' POV probably needs a LOT of work, but I can't see any way to really improve it without messing up the rest of the chapter. It's hard to explain. It's not the shittiest chapter ever, and we're finally moving along in the story (which is what I've wanted to happen for a long time now), so I'm pretty happy. Hope the wait was worth it, and it's not horrible, because this is kind of a long chapter.**


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